Why are cars getting so much bigger? Finance, Loans and Debt.

Monday, April 8, 2024

50% of all new cars are SUV's, which may come as a surprise to you, considering the various noises around the world about moves to green transport. Is this just people with more disposable income wanting bigger cars, is it for the prestige? Or do car companies need you to buy bigger?

This week on the show Lucy and Andrew are joined by political economist Dr Tom Haines-Doran, to discuss his recent paper " The financialisation of car consumption". They discuss how the car industry is slowly destroying itself through over production, why fiance and debt companies want you to own a bigger car,  why the majority of cars are pretty much the same and the fall out of the the botched Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme in Levenshulme.

Links

Read Tom's paper "The financialisation of car consumption" Here

https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/204987/

Read " The political economy of car dependence: A systems of provision approach" Here

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620300633

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