Vilnius is more motorized than L.A. !

Vilnius and Athens are among the most motorized cities in the world. Infrastructure and consumer spending are the main causes of such high private cars’ affluence. Conversely, metropolitan areas such as London, New York or Tokyo have motorization rates lower than the average in the country; excellent infrastructure and pro-public transport policies impose themselves despite very high incomes per household – much higher than the national average. Thus good and diverse public transport reduces the motorization rate.

In general, average income is the single most important factor that determines consumer preferences to spend on public transport or to buy private vehicles. However, lower income cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Vilnius and Athens are among the top ten cities with the highest ratio of passenger car ownership in the world, reads a study carried out by EuroMonitor International.

In these cities, passenger cars are a necessity due to inadequate transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, poor quality vehicles tend to flood these cities, leading to air pollution and traffic.

Motorization rate is computed and expressed in number of passenger cars per thousands inhabitants.