Brits are ditching their cars to beat the cost of living crisis, but are still driving more than ever

As the cost of living skyrockets, many Brits are ditching their cars to reduce their monthly overheads. According to leading flexible car insurance provider, Cuvva, the number of drivers selling their cars and turning to car sharing to save thousands of pounds per year is going to continue to rise in 2022 and beyond. 

According to Statista, the car sharing market will generate US$11.88 billion in revenue worldwide by the end of this year, and it’s predicted that there will be 60.5 million car sharing users globally by 2026.

Zarra, an NHS worker from Camberwell, made the decision to sell his car as he found himself using it less frequently since the pandemic, and working remotely also meant he was home a lot more.

“Owning a car was becoming a burden for me. I live in London so I had to pay the congestion charge, and it was costing me around £60 to fill up my tank each time. Not to mention MOT costs, tax and all the other expenses that come with owning a car.”

Like many Brits, Zarra eased his financial commitments by selling his car and now borrow’s his neighbours’ car when he needs to get around. 

“Having a car became a waste of money because it was mostly sitting around, not being used. So I decided to sell it.

“I now top up with Cuvva’s short-term cover when I borrow my neighbour’s car. She kindly lets me use it to run errands or do my monthly food shop. Sometimes I borrow it to visit family who live outside of London,” said Zarra. 

Zarra, Camberwell

This drastically reduces his monthly overheads as the only thing Zarra has to pay for now is short-term car insurance and petrol, as he often tops up his neighbours car with fuel as a thank-you. 

Ben from London has also sold his car and regularly uses his parent’s car to get around. It now costs him under £10 to get two hours of short-term cover, which works out cheaper than Uber or Zipcar. 

Ben saved thousands after selling his 4X4, which was costing him £120 to fill up each time and over £1,000 per year in insurance and tax. He is using the savings towards the purchase of his first house. 

In addition to the financial benefits, there are other advantages as well. Not only can getting rid of a  car help you save money, fewer cars on the road is kinder to the environment, reduces emissions, and makes the air cleaner.

According to Cuvva, the car insurance app sold a record high 1.5 million flexible car insurance policies to car borrowers in Great Britain in 2021 alone. 

Darryl Bowman from Cuvva commented: “For many, working from home a few days a week is the new normal. Sharing one car per household or amongst friends or neighbours makes financial sense, especially with so many cars sitting idle at home and the cost of living at an all time high.

“There’s a growing appetite for car sharing and borrowing, and we’re working to facilitate this shift by making it just as easy to get insured on someone else’s car as it is your own.” 

Cuvva is challenging drivers to ditch their car and borrow someone else’s if you’re only getting behind the wheel a couple of times a month.