Used car prices 79% higher than pre-pandemic levels
Used car prices are 79% higher than pre-pandemic asking prices, however the rate a which prices are going up has slowed.
That’s according to figures released in listings website DoneDeal’s Sar Price Index.
According to the report, the rate of annual inflation slowed to 10.7% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 26.6% in the same time period in 2022, the lowest rate of annual inflation since just at the onset of the pandemic. The average annual rate of price inflation before the pandemic was 2.7%.
The report shows a 14% spike in demand in early 2023, typical at the beginning of the year, followed by a 9.7% decrease in demand was observed in the second quarter 2023. Coupled with a 7.7% increase in the stock of used cars on DoneDeal, this had a stabalising effect on prices.
Dr Tom Gillespie, Environmental Economist at University of Galway and author of the DoneDeal report, said the rebounding of supply and a stabalising of prices “is encouraging from an affordability perspective”.
Today's figures also show that the market for new cars in Ireland is growing. It states that the cooling of supply chain issues in the motor production industry has led to reduced wait times for new models.
19,440 new cars were registered in the second quarter of this year, representing an increase of 27.4% compared to the same period last year.
Electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid cars now account for 51.3% of new cars registered in Ireland, compared to just 18% in 2020 and 6.2% in 2018.
According to Dr Gillespie, this recent increase in EVs is quickly translating into the used car market.
“In the first half of 2023, we are beginning to see a larger number of EV’s and hybrids entering the secondhand market,” he explained.
“The first quarter of 2023 saw a tripling of the number of used EVs listed on DoneDeal in comparison to the previous quarter (roughly 1,500 compared to just over 500 in the last quarter of 2022).
“The transitional supply shock of new EV’s to the used car market can go some way to explaining this price drop, but also, the grant for new EVs is due to be lowered in July, making a purchase of a new EV more attractive than a secondhand equivalent. As EVs become more plentiful in the used car market they will become more affordable, encouraging more people to switch to a cleaner method of transport,” Dr Gillespie continued.