Vehicle history and data expert Cartell.ie has released new figures on the average value of a new car purchased in Ireland which in 2020 exceeded €33,000.

 
Cartell.ie looked at the average Open Market Selling Price of all new cars purchased between January and October in every year between 2003 and 2020. The results showed that the average value for a new car purchased in 2020 was €33,287. This is the third year that average values have exceeded the €30,000-mark. This compares with an average Open Market Selling Price of €23,395 in 2003 and €26,065 in 2012.

The strongest growth in the new car market over the past number of years falls in the €30,000 to €40,000 price bracket (constituting 32% of the total). This band is now the second most popular bracket overall marginally behind the €20,000 to €30,000 band (34% of the total) which has noticeably dropped off since 2012 (when it constituted 53% of the market). Even the bracket at the higher end of the market, the €40,000 to €60,000 bracket has increased in popularity since 2018 (now constituting 19% of the market up from 12% in 2018).

Cartell says the results show that the buyer is spending more money than ever before on their new car and suggests reason for this include:

- Consumers may be opting for more expensive vehicles such as SUVs and MPVs.

- Buyers may have more cash to spend or more available lines of credit such as Personal Contract Plans.

- Buyers may want larger cars, often because of more children.

- Vehicles are more expensive to manufacture, to comply with NCAP safety ratings, for example the introduction of more Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

- Increased consumer demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, where technology is more expensive to implement.

Jeff Aherne, Innovation Lead at Cartell.ie says, “These results show that buyers are willing to purchase more expensive cars. Vehicles are tech-heavy now with manufacturers offering multiple technological enhancements to vehicles. This is undoubtedly contributing to the price. Cars are also laden with safety features which increases the cost of manufacture for the vehicle. Ultimately the buyer is prepared to buy more expensive vehicles and the availability of various different finance offerings may also be playing a role in this.”