Car ownership is bound to die

Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have given some traction to that idea, as millennials increasingly prefer to whip out an app when they need a ride rather that commit to the expenses associated with owning a car.

There's already evidence of that trend. For example, a University of Michigan study published in January found the percentage of young people with a driver's license to be in decline.

The adoption of autonomous tech adds another layer to the "death of car ownership" theory. A network of on-demand, self-driving cars will drive the cost of ride-hailing services even lower, meaning owning a car will become even less alluring with time.

Where the theory gets sticky is when we talk about when this will happen and to what extent. (...)