Car price increases coming for South Africa – TransUnion SA

TransUnion SA has released its Q4 2020 Vehicle Price Index, showing that new car prices in South Africa rose for three consecutive quarters during 2020.

TransUnion SA has been providing information about the transport industry for 18 years, and posts the New Vehicle Price Index once every quarter from data they receive on monthly sales returns from thousands of dealers throughout the country.

Increasing vehicle prices

During 2020, new vehicle prices in the country steadily rose with each passing quarter, and – for three consecutive quarters – new vehicle prices rose faster than inflation.

For Q4 of 2020, new vehicle prices increased by 9.6%, compared to 2.9% in 2019.

“New vehicle price increases are above inflation and are forecast to increase further in the coming months,” said the company.

They continued to explain that used vehicle prices increased as well – by 2.9% for Q4 2020 – but are expected to stabilise going forward.

Furthermore, used vehicles are a bigger focus for the country as the report states that finance houses are financing 2.31 used vehicles for every new vehicle.

In conclusion, the company stated that the over-R300,000 price bracket is at its highest since 2011 – which points towards a positive first quarter in 2021.