In 2026, the car market appeared to be popular: subsidies were added, car prices went down, new energy was blooming and many people were moving. But the truth is solid: for the vast majority of people, cars are no longer essential, but rather expensive consumables. Buying a car without having to do so seemed to improve the quality of life, with a long-term burden, with cash flows, time and energy being drained. Today's account is full: in 2026, no car was bought for real
I. Economics first: buying a car is a “burner machine” and the full-cycle cost is so scary
Many people look only at the price of the car and ignore that “buying the car is only the beginning, and raising the car is the bottomless hole”. In 2026, the full-cycle cost of even class 100,000 cars was prohibitively high。
Fixed costs: no driving, no spending
• insurance: +2 million plus 3 plus vehicle loss and loss insurance, with fuel vehicles averaging 3500-5,000 yuan per year and electric cars costing 30-50 per cent or 4,500-7,500 yuan per year。
• parking fees: monthly rent of $300-800 in the sector, $200-500 in the company, and temporary parking at the mall/roadside at an average annual rate of $5,000-$10,000。
• ship taxes/mile fares: fuel trucks of $300-660 per year; pilot bus fares in 10 provinces and cities at an average of $900 per year。
• depreciation: 15 to 20 per cent depreciation and 10 to 15 per cent depreciation per year when a car is landed. One hundred and fifty thousand cars have been depreciated over five years, with the residual value of the used vehicles being cut off。
2. Dynamic costs: spending on cars, easy to break in a year
• oil/electricity: 15,000 kilometres per year for fuel vehicles and 8,000-9,600 dollars per year for fuel vehicles; and $1,100-1500 for electric cars, doubling to $3,000-6,000 for commercials。
• maintenance and repair: fuel trucks averaged $1200-2000 per year and electric cars 300-1,000; and rubbing, changing tires, replacement accessories, an average of $1,000-2000 per year。
• infringements/miscrubs: fines, annual inspections, car washes, high-speed charges at an average annual rate of $1,000-2000。
Total: the average annual expenditure of 100,000 class-owned vehicles exceeds $20,000-$4,000 and totals overpurchase over five years. Monthly pay of 8,000-10000, car support accounts for more than 20 per cent of income, leaving little after mortgages, childcare and daily expenses。
Loans are more expensive: low down payment, zero interest appears to be economical, with real monthly payments of $2,000-$4,000, plus three to five years. The cost of overlapping the car, with a fixed monthly expenditure of 5000+, is reduced in the event of unemployment, a reduction in salary, a cut in the letter of influence, the auction of the car and the two empty money trucks。
Ii. Looking at utilization: buying a car is a “facilitation of convenience” that is not needed to be blocked
Many people are easy to buy, but the reality is the opposite — not just to buy, not to enjoy, not to enjoy。
1. Travel was extremely inefficient and parking was exhausting
• traffic congestion: double the peak of morning and evening commute, two hours for an hour, and irritating and wasting time。
• parking difficulties: malls, view areas, old neighbourhoods, 10-30 minutes of parking space, which is more tiring than driving; parking space is tight, scratches and tickets are frequent。
• limited number: fuel trucks are limited to one day a week and green plates are not restricted, but chargers are queued, flight anxiety continues, and long distances remain inaccessible。
2. Low frequency of vehicle usage and long periods of idleness
Most people use only one or two vehicles per week and vehicles are idle for 90 per cent of the time. However, depreciation, insurance and parking fees are paid at a cost of $5-10 per kilometre, which is several times more expensive than taxis。
3. Alternatives are too well developed to buy cars
• daily commute: subways, public transports are cheap, traffic is free and parking spaces are not available
• short-distance travel: internet-based vehicles, shared bicycles, on call, with no care to protect and violate regulations
• medium- and long-distance: high iron comfort and speed, flexible car rental, less cost than driving。
Iii. Special background for 2026: the city of cars has changed so much that it needs to be more cautious
Technology is too fast for new car seconds to “old”
Cars enter the age of “electronic materials” and computing, batteries, and intelligent systems take on a new generation every 1-2 years. New cars bought this year are lagging behind next year, with second-hand retention rates falling sharply — 48. 5 per cent in 2025 for new energy used vehicles, far below fuel trucks。
2. Changing policies and increasing cost of vehicles
• the decline in new energy subsidies and the imminent expiration of half of the acquisition tax
• multi-location pilot car fare, future or national roll-out
• insurance, parking fees and oil prices are rising year by year, and the cost of car support is rising only unabated。
3. Reconception of consumption: rejecting indebtedness and keeping cash flow
In 2026, more and more people gave up “face buying cars”. Young people attach greater importance to the security of cash flows and are reluctant to bear long-term debt for their vanity. Cars cannot afford to reduce the quality of life — to be afraid to change jobs, to be sick, to consume and to become tense。
What exactly is needed? Don't take desire as a need
There are only three kinds of real needs, but all else is desire:
1. There is no substitute for daily commuting: work without a subway bus, more than 20 kilometres of commuting, and excessive internet traffic costs
2. Special needs of families: old people, children, pregnant women, frequent medical visits, transport and public transport difficulties
3. Work/life necessities: running, soliciting, or living in rural or suburban areas, with virtually no public transport。
The following are not new:
• others have them, and so do i
• occasional trips on weekends and homecomings (low frequency)
• recognition and promotion of the identity of the vehicle
• a little free money in his hand to buy a walk-in。
V. Recommendations to the general population: in 2026, there was a need not to buy cars
1. Maintaining cash flows: keeping the money on an emergency basis, managing finances and promoting itself is more effective than buying devalued cars
2. Cars on demand: day-to-day bus subways, occasional taxis and rentals, at a total cost of less than half the cost of raising cars
3. Rational consumption: do not be confused by marketing practices, low-interest loans, vehicles being tools, not assets
4. A new purchase is needed: an unreplaceable, high-cost, low-cost mainstream vehicle model is recognized。
Concluding remarks
In 2026, cars were no longer “living standards” but “optional consumption”. It is not just the need not to buy a car, not the door, but the reason — not to be tied up by debt, not to be consumed at cost, to spend money and energy in a more valuable place — in order to be comfortable。
It's easy to buy a car, it's not hard enough. 2026, keeping the wallet and travelling rationally is the wisest choice。
