Average price of new vehicles on the rise

Published on 23 February, 2022

Overview

New car buyers are spending more than ever on their vehicle. Latest figures show the average price rose above the €35,000 mark last year.

Most buyers are now paying between €30,000 and €40,000.

The trends emerge from a study carried out by vehicle history and data expert Cartell.ie, and car sales platform CarsIreland.ie.

Cartell.ie looked at the average Open Market Selling Price of all new cars bought between January and October from 2003 to 2021. 

The results show the average price of a new car in 2021 was €35,199.

That was the fourth year that average prices exceeded the €30,000 mark.

The report says the strongest growth in the new car market falls in the €30,000 to €40,000 price bracket (35pc of total, it used to account for under 10pc of sales in 2003).

It is now ahead of sales in all the other segments. The €20,000 to €30,000 band (31pc of total) now falls into second place. And more people are buying at the higher end of the market (€40,000 to €60,000).

It has increased in popularity since 2018 (now accounting for 21pc and up from 12pc in 2018).

The researchers reckon reasons for the increases include:
:: Buyers are simply opting for more expensive vehicles, or more expensive vehicle types such as SUVs and crossovers.

:: Manufacturers may be prioritising the sale of higher-end models and/or increasing prices owing to the global chip shortage.

:: Buyers have more cash to spend or more available lines of credit such as Personal Contract Plans (PCPs).

:: Buyers want larger cars. With a population that is expanding people with young children need additional space.

:: Vehicles are more expensive to make to comply with safety and environment regulations and buyers expect higher specification items as standard, such as larger wheels, alloys, on-board technology and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). They all invoke higher cost.

The report also says that increased demand for EVs and PHEVs could be making an impact.

Even though buyers are going for more environmentally friendly vehicles the fact is that they have to pay for the expensive technology associated with them.

John Byrne of Cartell.ie says: “This is the first time that the €30,000 to €40,000 segment is the strongest selling tier of the market. Certainly cars are laden with technology including Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Features.

"This adds to the cost of manufacture of the vehicle but it also means new cars are the safest they’ve ever been.”

The rise of what we pay for new cars: 2003: €23,354, 2004: €24,836, 2005: €25,998, 2006: €27,045, 2007: €28,022, 2008: €27,909, 2009: €25,798, 2010: €23,883, 2011: €24,715, 2012: €26,054, 2013: €26,267, 2014: €26,681, 2015: €27,168, 2016: €28,538, 2017: €29,493, 2018: €30,173, 2019: €31,515, 2020: €33,278, 2021: €35,199.

Meanwhile, the Newgate Motor Group has been appointed as the new Renault and Dacia dealership in Co  Meath.