Leasing Cars Like Phones? What Do You Think?

TACH's TAKE: Silicon Valley On Its Way To Disrupt The Auto Industry and The Historic Need For Traditional Car Companies

The Evolution of Cars Into Computers is Turning Buyers Into Leasers

Washington DC July 8, 2017;The NADA newsletter reported that when buying a smartphone, most users have it for a couple of years, then ditch it for something new and improved.

It's a life cycle that has become the norm for cellphones. Now, that same short-term relationship for a segment of the population is applying to what traditionally has been a long-term commitment: cars.

The Los Angeles Times reports that instead of buying a vehicle, more Americans are shifting to leasing, which allows drivers to utilize a new or used car for a limited amount of time, typically three years.

A report from Edmunds found that leasing volume has skyrocketed this decade – to 4.3 million vehicles in 2016 from 1.4 million vehicles in 2009. Last year marked the seventh consecutive year of lease growth.

They supine that new technology is the driving force behind the short life cycle for cellphones, the same forces are now at play with automobiles.

If you bought a car five years ago, it probably doesn’t possess many — if any — of those features.

“There’s an undeniably increasing sense that, just like how a TV or computer becomes obsolete relatively quickly, that’s happening with cars too,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher at Kelley Blue Book.

Driver-assist features such as automated parking, lane-departure prevention, blind-spot monitoring and advanced cruise control, which analyzes the speed of nearby cars and adjusts accordingly, have made their way into low-priced and luxury cars. Forty-nine automobile brands — including Kia, Honda and Ferrari — now feature Apple CarPlay, which connects an iPhone to the car’s built-in display, enabling a driver to make calls, send texts and listen to music while focusing on the road.

But so far, those features are found in only some car models, and often are priced as extras. Experts say it’ll be a few more years before automakers adopt them as standard — and that more advancements are on the way.