Nearly two months have passed since the home-grown car subscription service Flux first launched and they appear to have found their little niche: Peugeots. The company posted the following message on their Instagram and Facebook pages:
True enough, by filtering a search on Peugeot models on their website, we see that the three models they introduced (one 3008, two 2008 models, both registered in the year 2017) have been booked, but there’s no indication of how long for.
This is significant for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Peugeot is seen as a direct rival to Renault who have their own independent car subscription service running in Malaysia. It shows that there is some demand for slightly aspirational French cars in the subscription market. Perhaps the historically poor resale value and perceived high maintenance costs associated with these models make them a lot more appealing to subscribers rather than buyers.
Secondly, it’s worth comparing the pricing set by Flux versus Renault Subscription for a typical B-segment crossover. In this case, the Peugeot 2008 versus the Renault Captur. As we discussed in a separate article (linked below), each subscription service has their pros and cons. But assuming the subscribers went for the minimal subscription payment, that would have cost them between RM1248-RM1315 a month for a 3-year contract on the Peugeot 2008 with Flux and RM1299 for a 2-year contract for a Renault Captur through their in-house program. Bear in mind that Flux’s there are many little differences between the two services, just note that the competition in this segment is rather close. For French C-segment SUVs, Flux’s lone Peugeot 3008 went up for RM2,162 a month versus RM2,299 a month for the Renault Koleos. Again it may seem like the Peugeot was the better deal, but we have to now take into account the large road tax difference that is born by Renault in this case. All this involves more numbers than I can care to make use of, but I’m sure both companies have these numbers constantly on their minds.
It’s also significant because these aren’t even the cheapest cars you can subscribe to on Flux. There are still previous generation Toyota Vios and pre-facelift Honda City options available on the platform and these cost less monthly. Perhaps the higher perceived value of these Peugeot models and the better resale value of these Japanese makes show us where subscribers best like spending money. A good formula seems to be: if it’s too risky to buy, it’s safer to just subscribe.
You can check out our article on the cheapest way into car subscription in Malaysia below:
