Are The Cars Already Getting More Expensive? Seems To Be Yes

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 13:59

Due to the sharp rise in currency rates, representatives of the auto business predict an imminent revision of ruble prices for new cars. Buyers, in turn, decided not to wait for the rise in prices and are already showing increased activity. And if you were planning on buying a car this year, then you should hurry up. And that's why.

How prices have already changed

We studied how the prices for the basic versions of the ten most popular brands of the Russian market changed from January to March. Almost half of the cars in the sample increased in price by an average of 3%. Four models increased in price by 5-10%.

Stronger than other models has risen in price station wagon SkodOctavia: since the beginning of the year, the price of the basic configuration has increased by 9.5% (plus 168,000 rubles) to 1,938,000 rubles. However, the more popular version of the model - liftback - has risen in price by 2%, the price tag starts at 1,140,000 rubles (plus 21,000 rubles).

The growth record holders also included: Nissan Murano, which now costs from 2,499,000 rubles (plus 8.7% or 200,000 rubles), SkodSuperb - from 2,285,000 rubles (liftback - plus 8.4% and 178,000 rubles, station wagon - plus 7.9% and 176,000 rubles), Nissan Qashqai - from 1,319,000 rubles (plus 5.5% and 69,000 rubles).

Another 6 models went up in price by 3-5%. The list includes: Nissan Terrano (plus 4.3%), ToyotFortuner (plus 3.8%), KiProceed (plus 3.6%) and Ceed (plus 3-3.2%, depending on body type), BMW M8 (plus 3.3–3.7%, depending on body type) and KiSorento Prime (plus 3%).

The strongest rise in price in absolute terms was in the charged BMW M8: plus 390,000 rubles: now the 600-horsepower Gran Coupe "in the base" costs 10,420,000 rubles.

Prices for 34 models have not yet grown much, by 1–3%. Among them are KiRio and Sportage, popular on the Russian market, almost the entire Renault model range (with the exception of Dokker and Koleos), SkodKodiaq, ToyotCamry, Volkswagen Polo and Tiguan. Most likely, the first change in the price was connected not with the weakening of the ruble, but with the annual increase in prices and the increase in the utilization rate.

Among the most popular cars prices have not changed for the entire Lada model range, retained the same prices for Hyundai Cret and Solaris, SkodRapid and ToyotRav4. But the revision of prices is likely to happen in the near future.

Auto.ru users began to actively search for new cars

In March 2020, Auto.ru was used by at least 450 thousand unique users to search for a new car every week - this is 8% more than a year earlier, and 20% more than in December 2019! It turns out that even the price increase “planned” for 2020 could not stir up interest in buying a new car as much as the sharply appreciated currency.

In addition, the indicator for March was close to that of February (this month every year there is a peak in the activity of buyers of new cars after the New Year holidays). For comparison: in March 2019, the number of visitors was 7.2% less than in February, and this year it was only 2.8%.

The number of calls to dealerships in March became a record in the history of Automotive News! Already in the first week, simultaneously with the new dollar and euro rates, car centers received one and a half times more calls than a week before.

What will happen to the market

Auto.ru analysts have updated the forecast for passenger car sales. It takes into account new inputs - the coronavirus pandemic, the fall in oil prices and, as a result, the ruble exchange rate.

Unlike the previous forecast, where the positive scenario implied a slight market growth, now, even in the best scenario, sales will remain at the 2019 level. But this requires that the situation with the virus stabilize at least by the summer, and exchange rates return to the level of the beginning of the year in a few months. In the worst-case scenario, sales will decline by almost a quarter, and the decline will continue in 2021.