Bang on, Dave. Manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes are building large and complex cars that are too expensive for normal people to buy. As a result, they are reduced to persuading people to rent them out, and are taking the massive hit to their balance sheet.
Meanwhile, manufacturers like Dacia are building simple and affordable cars which might not boast all the bells and whistles, but which are affordable by normal folks and so consequently are selling like hot cakes.
I wonder which will prove to be the better business model in the future?
My understanding is that when they "rent them out" they're underwritten by financial institutions and the manufacturers aren't taking a hit.
Since almost no-one buys anything for cash any more it's probably just an extension of every other type of credit.
Mercedes sales increased by 11% in 2016.
It's a fact that the public demand ever more creature comforts and technology on their cars. It's heading the same way as the mobile phone - anyone remember when you used them to make calls ?
