ALLIANZ’S MOBILITY PREDICTIONS – MORE CAR SHARING, MORE DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AND CLEANER AIR

The Christening of the Royal baby, Prince George VII, tomorrow has prompted Allianz’s experts to look to the future and predict what life might be like should he become king when he is 65, which will be in the year 2078.

As longevity is a family trait, Allianz predict George could well be 65 or even older when he becomes King, so what might the world look like in 2078?

According to the UN there are an estimated 410,000 people over 100 years old today and by 2078 the number of centenarians will rise to 11.3 million. Even though birth rates are expected to decrease in the future, with longer life expectancies, the world population will continue to rise.

Mobility therefore, will play a key factor in the work-life balance of this larger and older workforce. According to the car researcher, Ward's, there were around 60 million cars on the road in the late1940s when George’s grandfather, Prince Charles was born. Today the number of cars has grown to one billion.

Allianz does not foresee the number of vehicles continuing to increase. Instead, we will have a different relationship with our cars, as cities become ever busier, there will be more government legislation to cope with the influx. Private vehicles will therefore become increasingly unattractive to private owners.

“London during the reign of George VII will probably continue to see congested streets, but the main difference to today will be that cars will be run through car-sharing plans, mainly due to the high price of owning your own car,” says Tim Pitts, head of product and technical support at Allianz UK.

Fredrik Muentzing of Global P&C at Allianz SE agrees, adding: "Personal mobility could be more focused on leisure activities."

In 65 years the need for physical mobility may decrease as with further technological advances, people in the future will be able to work wherever they like. Therefore private travel may only be for leisure.

Allianz experts also conclude that driver assistance systems will become more and more sophisticated, reducing the rate of car accidents. This is a trend already visible in Europe and the USA.

Technology will continue to aid safety but will also have an impact upon green credentials. Manfred Boschatzke, Market Management Director at Allianz, comments

“During the next decades, the automotive industry will continue optimising the current engines. But one day, cars will either be electric or run on emission-free fuel cells. So the good news is, the air will finally be much cleaner when the Royal Baby becomes king.”