Just wanting to own stuff is changing with the younger generation. Many that don't need a car, don't want a car and therefore won't buy a car. That's probably smart! I know I wanted a car long before I needed a car.
As for ebikes, you're leaving a few segments of buyers out of the equation. The wannabe rider that wants an ebike for more than just transportation. The buyer that will use the bike for transportation, but also wants to stay or get in shape. That's more difficult when you get a different bike everytime out. And the recrational rider that wants to throw the bike on/in the car, get out of the city for the weekend and ride 'the famous rail trail' everyone's talking about. Then there's the city dweller that wants to get out and mountain bike. That can include the growing number of ebike competition mtb events.
I don't live in a city, so I'm not in their target market, but I've used my ebikes for 3-1/2 years for transport, recreation and fitness. They are just so much fun and useful.
I hope ebikeshares will become commonplace in most cities, I'd likely visit for pleasure more often. I think it will be awhile before they're commonplace though. For the 4 years this forum has existed, many of us thought ebikes were ready to really take off in North America. They are, sort of. It's a slow growth though and the market here is tiny. It's going to take investment by the brands for mainstream advertising and education. Local and state governments will need to get on board with public information campaigns. European style schemes to promote ebikes and possibly offer tax credits for using ebikes, instead of a car. If one buys an electric car, they get a huge tax write-off and they never pay highway gasoline tax, the money that pays for our roadway infrastructure.
I fear a lot will have to change before ebikes take off like they have in Europe. Europe developed a bicycle culture, seriously since WWII. A lot due to necessity, a great deal of Europe was destroyed and few had money for cars, that's if you could get one. If you needed to get from A to B, you rode a bike. North America, and in particular the US, there was plenty of money and plenty of jobs to go around. Riding a bike was what poor people and children did. At best it was a toy! We didn't build any cycling infrastructure. Most people still don't consider a bicycle a serious transportation alternative. And far fewer children dream of a bike under the Christmas Tree. They want an iPhone, iPad or PlayStation. The market to sell any bike is small in N.A., smaller for ebikes, smaller for ebikeshares.
I'm hopeful, but pragmatic at this point. The nearest "city" to me, a city of 65,000 residents installed a regular bikeshare last summer, but they only have it available during warmer months. Even the bikeshare company is treating it as a novelty for tourists.
In the meantime I'm all in! The more the merrier, the more the cheaper! I do my best to inform anyone that'll listen. Last fall I was riding with a buddy and his Haibike, I on my BH and there was a guy in town that was very interested in our bikes. After giving him the full tour, he left us saying: "so it's a fancy moped?". Oh well.
