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Car ownership is the ownership of a car. Car ownership typically requires far fewer permits than driving that car on public roads (i.e.
driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...
, car insurance, etc.).


History

Levels of ownership have risen significantly since automobiles were pioneered in the 19th century. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was the first country in which mass ownership became common and 60% of families owned a car in 1929. By the 21st century in the United States, there was, on average, a vehicle for every person of driving age and more vehicles than people with driving licenses. This level of ownership was so great that, in 2010, the total number of vehicles dropped significantly for the first time, falling by four million to 247 million. Overall, across the world, levels of ownership increased fourfold between 1950 and 1999, from 48 people per automobile in 1950 to just 12.


Forms of ownership

A car is typically a major purchase and so there are a variety of financial schemes to facilitate the purchase. These include
hire purchase A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...
,
company car A company car is a vehicle which companies or organisations lease or own and which employees use for their personal and business travel. Take-home vehicle is a vehicle which can be taken home by company employees. Depending on the company, company ...
s, trade-in and leasing. Other forms of provision which centralise the ownership as a service include
rental Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...
,
car sharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
and vehicle hire.


Legal requirements

In some countries, there are additional regulations that must be fulfilled before purchasing or leasing a car. For example, in Japan, due to the high population density and limited space, a prospective owner must first provide proof of a space to park the car in question (proof-of-parking). In the Philippines and India, there is also interest in introducing proof-of-parking. In Singapore, there are additional requirements in the form of
Certificate of Entitlement The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is the quota licence for owning a vehicle in the city-state of Singapore. The licence is obtained from a successful winning bid in an open bid uniform price auction which grants the legal right of the holde ...
which only allows the vehicle's owner to own the vehicle for 10 years. (Prospective) owners of heavy vehicles in Singapore must first provide proof of a space to park the heavy vehicle in question under the Vehicle Parking Certificate Scheme.


Consequences of legal requirements

In Japan, the proof-of-parking regulation, combined with high taxing, has caused a class of cars known as kei cars (kei jidōsha) to develop. These small cars, limited in dimension (3.40x1.48x2.00m length, width and height) and engine displacement (660 cc or 0.66 L) are popular due to tax discounts on the excise tax (3% instead of 5% for normal vehicles), the weight tax (30% cheaper), and the insurance cost is also more than 10% lower and the annual road tax, calculated on the engine size.


Ownership documents


Title

In the United States, vehicle ownership is documented on a certificate of title. In the United States, each state's Department of Motor Vehicles or Registry of Motor Vehicles issues such documents when a vehicle is registered. Title deeds vary by design but always include vehicle-specific information at the front of the document (such as: year, make, model, VIN, color, etc.) and several boxes for transaction information at the back where information about change of ownership is recorded (such as sale date, odometer reading, seller and buyer names and signatures, etc.). In-state vehicle sales are recorded at the back of the title as long as there are unused reassignment boxes. If a vehicle is sold out-of-state, the new owner must apply for a new title at their local DMV office. In Spain a second-hand vehicle ownership transfer is done at th
DGT
office or Tráfico as it's known locally. Transfer tax must be paid using a Modelo 620 form. This must be done within 30 days after signing the contract of sale for the vehicle and must be done by the buyer.


MCO

In the United States, the
Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin A Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin (MCO), also known as a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO), is a specified document certifying the country of origin of the merchandise required by certain foreign countries for tariff purposes. It some ...
(MCO), also known as Manufacturer's Statement of Origin (MSO) is the ownership document issued by the vehicle manufacturer that assigns ownership of a new vehicle to a
franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
car dealership until said vehicle is registered and titled. This document is similar to the title deed in content, but is to be used among licensed car dealers only.


Rates of car ownership

In the developed world, the number of cars per 100 people is generally between 30 and 50, with a few countries (such as Canada and New Zealand) over this. In China there are 15 cars per 100 people, and very poor countries such as Somalia have less than one car per thousand people. In 2007, the expectation was that the rate of car ownership would be increasing almost everywhere, and rise very rapidly indeed in countries such as China and India. About ten years later, however, there is a trend from car ownership towards
shared mobility Shared may refer to: * Sharing * Shared ancestry or Common descent * Shared care * Shared-cost service * Shared decision-making in medicine * Shared delusion, various meanings * Shared government * Shared intelligence or collective intelligenc ...
.How shared mobility will change the automotive industry
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See also

* Economics of car use *
Effects of the car on societies Since the start of the twentieth century, the role of cars has become highly important, though controversial. They are used throughout the world and have become the most popular mode of transport in many of the more developed countries. In dev ...
* Carsharing * History of the automobile *
Modal share A modal share (also called mode split, mode-share, or modal split) is the percentage of travelers using a particular type of transportation or number of trips using said type. In freight transportation, this may be measured in mass. Modal share i ...
* Neighborhood Electric Vehicle * Micromobility


References


External links

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