Are cars the most expensive FMCG? From buying a house to changing a car, what drives us?
Recently I read the news that the Wenjie M6 is going to be launched. My colleague Lao Zhou stared at the poster and sighed: "I just saved enough for the down payment to buy a house, and here comes a 'big electronic item' hooked in my wallet. I used to think that buying a house with hundreds of thousands of dollars was a pain, but it was a house that could live in for decades. But now it's better. The same money spent on a car will look old after driving it for seven or eight years. Some people replace it more often than their mobile phones." This sentence sounds heartbreaking, but if you think about it, it really touches the life trajectory of many people today.
According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association last year, the average replacement cycle for domestic private cars has shortened from 12 years ten years ago to 7-8 years, and even shorter for luxury brands. Some car owners want to replace their cars with new models in three years. How is this buying a car? It is clearly a "high-end electronic consumable" that has been added to life - as long as you use it, it will become obsolete, but if you don't use it, you will be afraid of falling behind.
I have an older brother who runs a company. He bought a BBA medium and large SUV in 2018, which cost more than 800,000 yuan at that time. He always praised
Are cars the most expensive FMCG? From buying a house to changing a car, what drives us?
Recently I read the news that the Wenjie M6 is going to be launched. My colleague Lao Zhou stared at the poster and sighed: "I just saved enough for the down payment to buy a house, and here comes a 'big electronic item' hooked in my wallet. I used to think that buying a house with hundreds of thousands of dollars was a pain, but it was a house that could live in for decades. But now it's better. The same money spent on a car will look old after driving it for seven or eight years. Some people replace it more often than their mobile phones." This sentence sounds heartbreaking, but if you think about it, it really touches the life trajectory of many people today.
According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association last year, the average replacement cycle for domestic private cars has shortened from 12 years ten years ago to 7-8 years, and even shorter for luxury brands. Some car owners want to replace their cars with new models in three years. How is this buying a car? It is clearly a "high-end electronic consumable" that has been added to life - as long as you use it, it will become obsolete, but if you don't use it, you will be afraid of falling behind.
I have an older brother who runs a company. He bought a BBA medium and large SUV in 2018, which cost more than 800,000 yuan at that time. He always praised everyone he met, "This car can be driven for ten years." As a result, he suddenly changed to a new pure electric car last fall. When I asked him why he was in such a hurry, he smiled bitterly: "When a customer rides in my car, the new smart cockpit can control all functions with voice. My car is still stuck as a senior phone, so I feel a little less confident when talking about business." You see, technology iteration is like a rush. Car companies launch new models every year, with more configurations, smart driving and Internet of Vehicles functions are upgraded every month, and car owners become "old models" if they are not careful.
This was something that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago. At that time, my family had a Santana that could show off half a street, and it was not willing to be overhauled after ten years of driving. What now? The house is an "asset", but the car has become a "consumer good". I asked friends who do second-hand car appraisals. The residual value of an ordinary family car that is five years old is basically only 30%-40% of the original price. It is even worse if it is sold by Didi. Even if it is half the price after three years, it is considered good. But even if you know it's a loss, you still have to replace it - not because the old car can't be driven, but because there are so many "temptations" in the new car.
Some people say this is a trick of the car companies. This is true. The new energy market is booming. In order to seize the market, car companies launch at least 1-2 model changes every year, with minor exterior changes, major interior changes, and intelligent system upgrades. As soon as old car owners picked up the car, they discovered that "the new model has L2+ assisted driving." Traditional fuel vehicles are not showing any weakness either. From turbocharging to hybrid, from mechanical instruments to full LCD, technological updates are so fast that it’s hard to keep up. Not to mention marketing methods, such as "young people's first performance car" and "the ultimate solution for family travel", which tie the car to identity, quality and face, who can not be tempted?
But it’s not fair to blame the car companies alone. We ourselves are changing too. When I was young, I worked hard to buy a house, thinking that "you can only have a home if you have a house." Now that material conditions have improved, the requirements for quality of life have also increased. I want to take my family camping on the weekend, but the trunk of the old car cannot fit a tent and a barbecue grill; my children are clamoring for a "singing seat", and the manually adjusted air conditioner in the old car seems too shabby. These trivial needs pushed us to put car replacement on the agenda.
What is even more interesting is the change in social attitudes. In the past, when talking about cars, everyone was competing to see who could drive longer and save less maintenance; now the first thing they say when meeting each other is often "When will your car get a new model?" "My car has been upgraded with automatic parking." Cars are no longer a simple means of transportation, but have become a label in life circles. Just like my mother's old square dance sisters, they have been talking recently about "whose son has changed to a tram, which is convenient for charging and can take a bath at home." The car has become a new topic of conversation after dinner.
Are we buying a car, or are we paying for a “better life”? There is no standard answer to this question. There is nothing wrong with car companies building better cars and us pursuing a more comfortable life. Just be careful—don’t let “new model anxiety” lead you away. A car is a tool and people are its masters. It is more important to drive it smoothly and use it comfortably than to chase after the configuration.
Just like what Lao Zhou said at the end: "Next time I change a car, I have to make a demand list first, listen less to sales scams, and think more about what I really need." This is true. After all, you save your money and live your life by yourself. Don’t let the label of “the most expensive FMCG” overshadow the true nature of life.
Classic sentence:
"We always think that we are chasing the trend, but in fact it is the trend that defines our needs." - "Consumer Society" Baudrillard
Content call sources: China Automobile Dealers Association's "2023 China Automobile Replacement Market Research Report", Passenger Car Association's annual sales data analysis, and used car platform residual value assessment white paper.
