Car Ownership Rates Plunge In European Cities; Smartphones More Important

Would you replace your car with a smartphone?

With the increased connectivity offered by smartphones, it may be that more people will find car ownership unnecessary where alternative forms of transportation are available.

Has last century's romantic attachment to cars been eroded by a culture fixated on texting and web surfing?

That's what appears to be happening in Europe where, Bloomberg reports, car ownership rates in major cities are plummeting.

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Since 2005, the number of vehicles per 1,000 people in Paris has fallen 9 percent, alongside an 8 percent drop in London, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

In BMW's hometown of Munich, the number of vehicles per 1,000 people fell by 16 percent in the same period.

Automakers plan to combat this lack of interest by making cars more like smartphones.

Jaguar Land Rover will launch a "Smart Assistant" feature that automatically adjusts vehicle settings to suit a driver's preference.