I had an interesting conversation this week with an industry guru who has a broader knowledge across all brands than I have and he has confirmed my opinion that many reasons are combining together which will drive up the cost up of new cars in 2019. Sadly I reckon the days of low priced new cars are waning and car buyers, who would previously have bought used cars but have recently upgraded to new cars instead, may well revert back to buying used cars.
Why? I hear you asking – As with most things, there are not just one or two ‘reasons’, just a moment in time when many ‘reasons’ come together at the same time. I have already noticed the massively increasing technology which is being forced upon manufacturers for safety reasons, such as radar brakes, crash avoidance, lane departure, etc. In most cases these are not necessarily wanted or needed by consumers, but are driven by NCap safety standards and legislation.
Add to that the drive to reduce emissions, coupled with research and development to produce more efficient engines and vehicles, which all comes at a massive cost, especially when driven to change so quickly. On top of that is the hybrid technology, which, again, manufacturers are forced via legislation to embrace, and already I hope you get the picture.
Interest rates have also seen increases, and manufacturers need to cover the cost of all the R and D and EV Tech - so they all need more money - or their alternative is to sell cars in markets worldwide that are growing and, remember, outside the EU, legislation is not at the same level!
I can remember predicting about 10 or 12 years ago that new cars would never be cheaper than they were at that time, and I think we are at that point again!
But don’t all panic because if new cars are more expensive, your used car will not devalue as fast, so that’s great if you own your car. Unfortunately for those who have cars on contract hire, the benefit will be reaped by the leasing companies, but the days of handing back your car on PCP may be over, as it could well be worth in excess of the outstanding finance at the end of the agreement, which is exactly as the scheme was originally designed!
So there will as always be winners and losers, but it’s certainly going to be an interesting time, and the sub £10,000 new car could well be a thing of the past in 12 months’ time!!
“We are living toward incredible times where the only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing”. Peter Diamandis
I had a n interesting conversation this week with an industry guru who has a broader knowledge across all brands than I have and he has confirmed my opinion that many reasons are combining together which will drive up the cost up of new cars in 2019. Sadly I reckon the days of low priced new cars are waning and car buyers, who would previously have bought used cars but have recently upgraded to new cars instead, may well revert back to buying used cars.
Why? I hear you asking – As with most things, there are not just one or two ‘reasons’, just a moment in time when many ‘reasons’ come together at the same time. I have already noticed the massively increasing technology which is being forced upon manufacturers for safety reasons, such as radar brakes, crash avoidance, lane departure, etc. In most cases these are not necessarily wanted or needed by consumers, but are driven by NCap safety standards and legislation.
Add to that the drive to reduce emissions, coupled with research and development to produce more efficient engines and vehicles, which all comes at a massive cost, especially when driven to change so quickly. On top of that is the hybrid technology, which, again, manufacturers are forced via legislation to embrace, and already I hope you get the picture.
Interest rates have also seen increases, and manufacturers need to cover the cost of all the R and D and EV Tech - so they all need more money - or their alternative is to sell cars in markets worldwide that are growing and, remember, outside the EU, legislation is not at the same level!
I can remember predicting about 10 or 12 years ago that new cars would never be cheaper than they were at that time, and I think we are at that point again!
But don’t all panic because if new cars are more expensive, your used car will not devalue as fast, so that’s great if you own your car. Unfortunately for those who have cars on contract hire, the benefit will be reaped by the leasing companies, but the days of handing back your car on PCP may be over, as it could well be worth in excess of the outstanding finance at the end of the agreement, which is exactly as the scheme was originally designed!
So there will as always be winners and losers, but it’s certainly going to be an interesting time, and the sub £10,000 new car could well be a thing of the past in 12 months’ time!!
“We are living toward incredible times where the only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing”. Peter Diamandis
Dan Plumridge
Shaun Hartwell
Steve Rhodes 
Kevin Seaton
