How Robotaxis Might Mitigate Electric Car Depreciation (robohub.org)

Hallie Siegel writes: Autonomous car expert Brad Templeton argues that we're in for a period of about 5 years in electric cars where each year's new model is a lot better, and that could be a problem for people trying to sell them. Further exacerbating Moore's Law for cars is that autonomous features (like traffic jam assist) rely heavily on computers. Unfortunately cars cost a lot more than computers or cell phones, so throwing them away before the end of their lifespan is a bit of a problem. How do get over the depreciation problem while autonomous cars and electric cars are going through this period of rapid development? Templeton suggests that a taxi model could be the answer, since use is so much more intense that with a private ownership model, that the cars are likely to wear out before they become worthless from a resale perspective.

Comments

Don't buy new.

[sims 2]

If I buy a car from the dealership for $50,000 and then try to sell it 10 minutes later it's now worth $25,000 at most.

If I buy a used vehicle from someone for $15,000 and try to sell it 10 minutes later it's still worth about $15,000.

Why take the hit?

Also a car that is worn out still has a pretty poor resale value even if it is just a year old.

Component Upgrades

[bondsbw]

If a computer were too expensive, I would replace components until it made financial sense to purchase a full system.

Something similar could happen with automobiles. The manufacturer could provide a refit program at least once during the typical life of the vehicle (perhaps 3 or 4 years in). It would bring in much of the latest technology for a much lower cost than purchasing a new vehicle, keeping customers happy and less likely to look at a competitor's latest model.

Not that much

[DrYak]

That is because of dealer markup.

Not quite. The dealer don't have actually that high margins on new cars.

It's really the market price falling with the perception of the cars being in pristine conditions or not.
(It's the same kind of consideration as that to a fan or a collector, it's REALLY important if a good was unboxed / if the packaging has already been cut open or not.)

On the other hand: you can count the dealers to milk your wallet as much as they can get with it. Specially for periodic controls. But also at the slightest warning light going orange / the slightest warning message on the dashboard. Or even for simple firmware update. Or even if the offered services don't make any sense (e.g.: car dealer selling care packages including a few oil changes. On an electric vehicle. (which has a sealed electric motor and thus no possibility to touch the oil).
That's why car dealers are pissed by dealership-free cars companies like Tesla Motors (With automatic OTA update that don't require a "technician" and are offered for free instead of being charged. And with fewer parts requiring actual service)

Beware the Robot Axis

[robogoofers]

I read the headline and got scared.