Before delving into the theme that serves as the motto of this chronicle, it will not be useless to go back 15 years and visit the automobile industry before the new millennium. A time when the utilitarians of the more modest brands were frankly rudimentary compared to the family members of more prestigious brands. In the former, air conditioning was usually an option (expensive), airbags were only present on the driver's side, engines were poor, space was limited and standard equipment was reduced. In seconds, the conversation was different…
The utilities in general were just that: utilities. They were used for small trips and were limited to longer trips. With family and luggage, the case got even worse. The behavior left something to be desired, the comfort followed the same line and the qualitative and technological gap for the other segments was notorious.
Returning to the present, from low cost brands to premium brands, the automobile industry has evolved so much that there are minimum standards that all cars now meet, even the most modest ones. The air conditioning button is now present in everyone's cabin, security (active and passive) is no longer an option, and other equipment is becoming more and more democratized. Cruise control, power windows, central locking, radio worthy of the name, GPS...
Paradigmatic examples of this evolution are the utility models (segment B) and the low cost brands. They are bigger, the construction rigor is frankly good, the engines are modern and the equipment generous. Do not compromise in any field. So, if the question were merely rational, it would be difficult not to look at these cars as true alternatives to premium proposals, since they do everything like these do for a fraction of the value: traveling from point A to point B.
Premium still makes sense?
However, the choice between one and the other is no longer as rational a question as in the past. With the issues of safety, habitability and comfort resolved, today the differentiation of premium brands to low cost brands is made above all by design, technological content, performance and refinement. This is the added value today, more than ever.
If a few years ago the choice between one and the other had to do – financial matters aside… – with some rational assumptions, nowadays these same assumptions are increasingly emotional in nature. When everyone already offers satisfactory levels of safety and comfort, the premiums had to start offering something more. Hence, the investment of premium brands in the sex-appeal of their cars is increasing.
The car is no longer a mere transport, but an extension of our personality, a statement of who we are and what we like to do. Answering the initial question: Premiums therefore make as much sense today as they did in the past. Maybe even more, thanks to the brands.
Still, between them, I sometimes ask myself: what would I do with all that money? A lot indeed. The truth is that, on the one hand, the low costs are good today, and the premiums are better than ever. Whichever wallet decides, in any case, we'll be well served. In the past maybe it wasn't like that.