"China Economic Weekly" reporter Wang Hongru

　　The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month is a rare fine weather.

Hong Zhou, who drove a taxi in Luohe City, Henan Province all the year round, took his family back to his hometown in the countryside to celebrate the New Year happily.

To his surprise, driving in the city was unimpeded, but as soon as the car arrived at the entrance of the village, there was an unprecedented road congestion.

　　In the traffic flow, he took a closer look at the vehicles driving on the road. There were not only the local Henan L and Yu Q license plates in Luohe, but also the Yu K, Yu D, and Yu C in neighboring cities. From time to time, he could also see a lot of Beijing license plates. Vehicles with foreign licenses such as Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang.

　　"The three-year epidemic has disrupted people's pace of life. With the introduction of the 'New Ten Rules' at the end of last year, wanderers who were wandering outside can finally go home. Many people choose to drive back home." Hong Zhou said.

　　But unexpectedly, in addition to returning home vehicles, vehicles with local license plates are also parked on the side of the road. Obviously, more and more rural people are buying vehicles locally, and cars have quietly entered the countryside like this. The new atmosphere of the countryside during the Spring Festival.

　　Rural wedding car wedding room is standard

　　"Beep, beep!" While Hong Zhou was thinking, a brand new Beijing Hyundai ix35 drove up and honked its horn loudly.

He lowered the car window, and it turned out to be the neighbor Lao Yang.

　　"I was in a hurry to use soy sauce for cooking at home, so I drove to the supermarket at the entrance of the village to get soy sauce. I didn't expect to meet you here." Lao Yang greeted him with a smile.

　　Lao Yang is a skilled family carpenter who has been engaged in decoration business in Zhengzhou in recent years.

Although the two haven't seen each other for many years, the "folks from the countryside" still remain the same when they meet.

　　"You have to drive a car for every soy sauce? It's too extravagant. When did you buy a new car?" Hong Zhou asked cheerfully.

　　"I just mentioned it, it's only been 3 days, 120,000 yuan, installment payment, 50,000 down payment, and the remaining balance of 40,000 yuan will be paid by my son. The owner of the car also wrote his son's name. This is considered a wedding car for his son in the future." Yang said that he can drive for two days when he is at home during the Spring Festival, but he can’t drive even if he wants to go out to work after the New Year.

　　"During the epidemic, you can still buy a new car. The business is good!" Hong Zhou joked.

　　"Don't tell me, during the epidemic, the decoration industry has not been greatly affected. As long as there are enough materials, even if the community is closed, the construction will not be affected. Besides, we are in the business of setting up shifts and laying down assistants. There is no so-called boss and Hiring workers. No matter who contacted the business, everyone worked together in a team. After the work was finished, the money was shared on average. When it was more, it could earn seven or eight hundred yuan a day, and when it was less, it could be divided into one or two hundred yuan a day. On average, every day If you can earn three or four hundred yuan, your life is still guaranteed." Lao Yang puffed out a puff of smoke ring comfortably while talking.

　　Lao Yang is 48 years old. Although he has not yet reached the age of knowing his destiny, he has already begun to plan for his future retirement life.

"I'm getting old, and I'll work for a few more years. I don't plan to go out to work anymore. I plan to go home and transfer dozens of acres of land." Lao Yang was talking happily when his cell phone rang, and his wife's sonorous voice came from the microphone.

　　"It takes a long time to buy soy sauce..." Lao Yang said goodbye to Hong Zhou quickly, and drove off in a new car.

　　As soon as Hong Zhou sat down at home, his neighbor Li Shuixian stopped by. He straight to the point said that her family had bought a new car.

　　"My eldest daughter-in-law bought a BYD pure electric car for 120,000 yuan a year ago. My second son is 19 years old and just got his driver's license. He also plans to buy a car. Let's buy a new car now, because I'm a novice with no driving experience, and it's not worth it if I get bumped. I plan to buy a second-hand car first, and then buy a new car when I get married. What brand of second-hand car do you buy for the staff? " Li Shuixian said.

　　"Nowadays, there is no need to rush to buy a car, especially a second-hand car." Hong Zhou continued to explain to her, "Recently, more used cars are sold than bought. Now there is not a single car in the second-hand car market that is not They are eager to sell. And because the price of new cars keeps dropping, the second-hand car market will definitely be affected in the future. The car is in their hands, and the price of the car will continue to depreciate with the age of the car. Especially when the car insurance expires Now, you have to buy a new insurance, so the car dealers in the second-hand car market are the most anxious these days. Don't rush to buy it."

　　He completely convinced Li Shuixian.

"Okay, let's not buy it for now. In the future, my task will be heavy. In addition to buying a car, I also need to buy a wedding house for my second son in the city. Nowadays, when children in rural areas get married, a wedding car and a wedding house are standard equipment. Look, rural families His house was built like a turret, and he still had to buy a wedding house in the city." Li Shuixian said cheerfully.

　　The average annual increase of rural motor vehicle drivers has exceeded 13 million, reaching 289 million

　　Looking back 20 years ago, cars were still considered a luxury in China. Even in cities, an ordinary family could rarely own a family car, let alone in rural areas.

　　It's different now, more and more rural people are buying cars.

　　Look at this set of data.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Security, by 2022, the number of motor vehicles in the country will reach 417 million, including 319 million cars; the number of motor vehicle drivers will reach 502 million, including 464 million car drivers.

In 2022, there will be 34.78 million newly registered motor vehicles and 29.23 million newly licensed drivers nationwide.

　　In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the economic and living standards of our people, cars have gradually entered thousands of households from a luxury for a few people, and have become the main means of transportation and consumer goods and necessities for ordinary families.

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to the increase in the purchase of vehicles in cities, there is also a phenomenon of rushing to buy cars in rural areas of our country, and cars still have huge sales potential in the rural market.

　　According to data released by the Ministry of Public Security, in the past 10 years, my country's urban and rural economies have developed in a balanced manner, and the growth focus of motor vehicles and drivers has gradually shifted from the east to the central and west regions, and from cities to rural areas.

In terms of driver growth rate, the growth rate of drivers in the eastern region was 9.7% in the past 10 years, that in the central region was 10.3%, and that in the western region was 11.9%. The growth rate in the central and western regions was higher than that in the eastern regions.

The number of motor vehicle drivers in rural areas has grown rapidly, with an average annual increase of more than 13 million, and has now reached 289 million, accounting for 57.8% of the total number of drivers in the country.

In addition, the number of motor vehicles in rural areas reached 208 million, of which 140 million were automobiles, accounting for 50.2% and 44.1% of the national total respectively.

　　The potential of the rural market cannot be underestimated.

　　Hong Zhou analyzed: "Nowadays, if a rural family does not have a car, it will feel shameful in the village, and young people also need a car when they are talking about marriage. Those families with poor economic conditions in the village find it difficult to marry a wife. In addition In rural areas, cars are mainly used to visit relatives. It takes dozens of kilometers to visit relatives from the countryside to the city. It is really inconvenient to not have a car in the countryside.”

　　In the town of Hong Zhou’s hometown, some rural people who work outside only drive their cars when they return to their hometown during the Chinese New Year. After the Chinese New Year, they leave the car at home and go out to work to make money.

Why can't these migrant workers go out to work in their cars?

　　"Rural people who go out to work earn a small amount of money. If you take a car with you, the parking fee in the city will cost hundreds of dollars a month. Add in gas costs and daily maintenance, and the money will come down in a year. But there are quite a few, which is neither cost-effective nor convenient, so put the car at home in the countryside and enjoy driving it after the Chinese New Year, which saves face and is very convenient, so why not do it?" Hong Zhou said.