Prices of new passenger cars increased by 2.3 percent in the second quarter compared to the beginning of the year. In a year, cars could rise by almost ten percent at the current rate. The reason for the growth at a significantly above-inflation rate is the legislative requirements for reducing emissions and mandatory equipment. This is according to data from the regular price index of the consulting company EY.
“Unfortunately, the additional costs of cars were reflected in the final prices for consumers. Their growth was not offset by the growing offer of petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid versions of vehicles. The largest increase in average prices by five percent was recorded in the SUV segment The prices of the top diesel variants increased by 1 percent, which corresponds to CZK 67,732, “said Petr Knap, EY’s leading partner for the automotive sector.
The average two percent increase, corresponding to approximately CZK 15,979, came from the highest equipment. For example, the Hyundai Tucson models and the Karoq, Kodiaq, Octavia, Scala models from Škoda became more expensive. CNG cars with the highest equipment rose by 11.7 percent, diesel cars by 5.9 percent.
The prices of basic equipment increased on average by 2.9 percent, ie by approximately CZK 13,705. This was most pronounced in the case of the prices of diesel models, where the surcharge was around CZK 31,021. Within the segments, the highest price increase of 4.5 percent occurred in the SUV category. The basic equipment of the Škoda Kodiaq became more expensive by CZK 102,000 due to the launch of the facelift, and the price of the Nissan Qashqai increased by CZK 52,000. In addition to SUVs, mini cars, for example, rose by 4.3 percent and the lower middle class by 2.9 percent. On the other hand, electric cars and LPG cars became slightly cheaper.
“Based on our current and historical data, we can clearly see how the prices of passenger cars on the Czech market are developing. Prices are rising in basic and top equipment. Since 2018, we have seen an overall increase of 13.5 percent on average and are probably starting to accelerate. we cannot expect a reduction in prices at a time whenever higher demands are placed on the safety and sustainability of manufactured cars, “added Knap.
Prices will also rise due to the growing supply of purely electric cars, which are significantly more expensive than traditional vehicles. The current unfavorable situation regarding the lack of chips and the rising price of other inputs certainly plays a role. Both of these factors significantly undercut the producers’ production capacities.