I'm not disagreeing with you. Anyone would pick a Japanese car if it actually offered good value for money. But paying Rs. 14 million for a Raize or Rs. 16 million for a JDM Yaris Cross? I just don't get it.China is growing rapidly with tech and stuff. So their vehicles are also the same.
But their strategy is different, they are more focused on building a car that can be used for about 3-5years and then recycling. This is fine for developed countries.
But for a country like us which is 2/3 of the car value is tax, we have to care about the resell value. This resell value is totally depends on the parts and service availability. In Japanese cars so many components are interchanged among the models for several years. But China is advancing tech so fast, they seems to barely interchange the parts among the models. So for anyone who bought any Chinese car this early will have to face this fact very soon.
You can remember how chinese phone brands came to the market with soooo many features and seemed they were far superior. But at the end of the day they just vanished and only few left, but still companies like Apple, Samsung became the leaders, because those devices had the biggest support, parts availability, after services and all.
And don't think this 5-8 years warranty is for caring about the car, it is not. That is just a tactic for the buyers to give the impression that they are protected for 8 years, but that doesn't guarantee a peaceful service and parts availability at all.
And yes, China may be making soooo many units and blah blah all these will work for other countries. But for early Sri Lankan buyers, it will be a hell.
For a country like us, Japanese and Indian cars are the best.
You're basically saying buy old tech, less comfort, old looking hard plastic cabins and rely on resale value. I'd rather enjoy a more comfortable, feature-packed car now than worry too much about what it'll be worth in 5 years
Just look at how many Jetour T2s and Sealion 6s are on the road. People are buying them because they offer comfort that used to come only with European cars. I know more than 10 people who had Premio's who went with Sealion 6.
Also, I don't think Japanese cars will keep their resale value forever if they stop offering value for money.
Do you really think 4-5 years from now people will still pay Rs. 12 million for a 2025 Raize that's done 100,000 km? I don't think so my friend, Yes only if LKR depreciate like 50%
Yeah, Chinese cars will probably depreciate around 50-60%, while Japanese might be around 30%, But these days people don't like spending a fortune on a car that's already done 100k. They want newer cars with newer tech.
I'm pretty sure in another 3-4 years, at least 40-50% of the cars on Colombo roads will be Chinese. But if Japan starts bringing proper value again, people will definitely buy them. Imagine if we could get a Harrier or RAV4 for Rs. 25 million. I'd pick that over a Jetour T2 any day. But when a Harrier is around Rs. 40 million. You tell me a good Japanese car to buy around 25 million ?
Corolla cross ? Common man

High end stuff like the Prado, Lexus, Land Cruiser, etc. are a different story.
Talking about smartphones, below graph will tell a story too

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