Study: Tech Advancements Contribute to Rising Car Ownership Costs

Hi [NAME],

As you know, automakers have begun charging buyers subscription fees to access what was once built-in, technical features (e.g., heated car seats, GPS updates, adaptive high beams, etc.). Moves like this hit drivers with even higher prices at a time when inflation and a potential recession loom. Car insurance savings app Jerry conducted a study that reveals just how expensive car ownership is becoming and the role tech advancements play in its rise.

Key findings include: 

• Insurance premiums have more than doubled from 2000 to 2020, likely due to an increase in maintenance and repair costs primarily from the advanced technology in new vehicles. 
• Today’s cars, trucks and SUVs — though bigger and heavier — are quicker and more powerful, offer better fuel efficiency, produce fewer emissions, and include innovative safety features. 
• Vehicles also now have dozens of computers and electronic sensors, with electronics accounting for about 40% of a new car’s price as of 2017, up from 18% in 2000.
• As of 2021, about 40% of new vehicles also come equipped with continuously variable transmissions, which improve efficiency and gas mileage. In 2000, zero vehicles were equipped with these advanced transmissions.
• Investments in advanced technologies produced longer-lasting vehicles that depreciate more slowly than cars built 20 years ago.
• Auto makers managed to keep car prices in line with household incomes, despite the above. But steep increases in health care costs, housing prices, and food stretched household budgets all the same.

To read the full study, click here and see below my signature. Visuals from the study can be downloaded here. Let me know if you have questions or if you would like a quote from Jerry’s data journalist, Henry Hoenig.

Here for questions,

Brenda

For More About Jerry: Jerry is an app that saves you time and money on your car expenses. Jerry first launched its AI- and machine-learning-based car insurance comparison service in 2019 and today serves more than 2 million customers as a licensed insurance broker and an authorized auto refinance provider. For more information, to save money on car insurance or reduce monthly auto loan payments by refinancing, visit getjerry.com or download the Jerry app in the App Store or Google Play.