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| VW Tiguan: highest price increase over decade. |
If you think the prices in your local car showroom have ballooned over recent times, you’re not mistaken, writes Brian Byrne. On average, the showroom sticker figures on the most popular cars in Ireland have increased by 61pc since 2014. In a simple comparison made with the Irish Car magazine Price Guide from a decade ago I took the eight models from the top ten sold in 2024 which were in play or had equivalent nameplates in 2014. I knew there had been significant increases, but I was pretty surprised at some of the actual outcomes.
Our 2024 showroom comprised four compact SUVs, one small SUV, two compact family hatch-saloons, and a small car. Their price range in 2014 ran from €14,995-€28,995. The same models group at the end of 2024 ranged from €25,830-€49,695. In the group the Kia Sportage has had the least increase in percentage terms at 44.47pc to its current starting price of €39,000. Nevertheless, that’s a not insubstantial €12,005 of a rise. The biggest jump in cost has been the €22,700 increase now asked for the VW Tiguan, today at €49,695 and representing an 84pc rise since 2014. The small car, Toyota's Yaris, has gone from €14,995-€25,830.
Not in the list, but worth mentioning because in European sales it’s consistently the first or second best seller in unit numbers, is Dacia’s Sandero. In 2014 it was Ireland’s cheapest car at €9,990. It now costs €18,240, an increase of almost 83pc. All quoted prices are for base entry versions.
For context, the median price of housing has increased by almost 79pc in the same period, and currently oil prices are 64pc higher than a decade ago. But the Consumer Price Index inflation figure is interesting. Including housing and cars, it has a much wider ‘basket’ of 615 goods and services, and the whole package shows a much milder overall 22pc inflation through 10 years.
Compare that with the increase in average wages and salaries by 42pc over the decade, and a couple of things jump out. On the face of it, wage increases appear to comfortably outstrip the CPI inflation. But at least two areas — housing and cars — have moved well beyond previous affordability. On the first, this writer isn’t qualified to offer reasons. On the cars though, maybe.
The big uptick during the decade came when we were gradually saying adieu to the pandemic. A combination of pent-up demand and shortages of new vehicles due to global supply chain issues, especially in computer chips, combined to push up what the motor trade was able to ask for, and what buyers were prepared to pay. With pandemic related savings, they also could at least notionally afford it.
In addition, the numbers and brand options in electric cars have increased, reaching a point where they are now a significant powertrain segment in the overall market. Targeting early adopters prepared to pay a premium for their tech, EVs have mostly been at the upper end of the car market. That has made higher prices for cars seem normal. Which happens in any consumer area: no matter how much we complain about an increase in the price of a pint, for instance — some people even promising to never drink again after a Budget tap — we get used to it and we slurp it up (for interest, prices of the black stuff are up by a third since 2014). We’ve become used to the big bump in overall car prices, and our wider perceptions have adapted, accepting higher costs for non-electrics too.
There are other reasons for the extra cost. More stringent regulation on safety and emissions means more expensive technology is mandatory on even the least expensive cars. Which is partly why, for instance, Ford has discontinued the Fiesta — legislation has driven the epitome of the cheap small car off the road. More sensors, more electronics, more effective autonomous handling and collision avoidance. More expectations of comfort (did anyone believe a decade ago that heated seats would be one of the demand items from Irish drivers?) and home-level connectivity (ditto for in-car internet to keep all the kids’ devices online while being shuttled to school). Not so much in Europe, if the bog-basic Dacia Sandero sales there are any indication.
Increased prices across the key markets beyond ourselves is also reflected in figures recently published by automotive industry monitor JATO. Much has been made of the concept of 'convergence' between battery electric and combustion engine prices, which would level out the prospects for electric vehicle buying. That convergence has happened, but not by a reduction in electric car prices. In Germany, while BEV prices increased by 5.2pc between 2019 and 2024, prices of ICE vehicles increased by 26.1pc. In Spain, BEV prices have increased by 1.9pc while ICE prices have increased by 17.7pc. In the UK, prices for BEVs have increased by 16.5pc and 29.4pc for ICE. In France, prices for electric cars decreased by 6.4pc over this time, while combustion engine vehicles increased by 10.4pc.
Car sales in Ireland, and across Europe, showed no growth last year. Probably not surprising. When the average price of a new car in any market — in Ireland it's €41,182 — is close to or above what the average employee makes in a year before taxes, it takes a fair amount of thought to invest. In our particularly skewed housing and rental prices situation, even more so. The Irish car trade is forecasting a return to growth this year. I wouldn't be counting on it.
