Cars have become more expensive. Poles will start to refuse purchases?

From January to the end of October, 399,669 new passenger cars and minibuses up to 3.5 tons were registered in Poland, which is 9% more than in the previous year. less than for the same period last year, according to the data of the Samara Institute of Automotive Market Studies. Interestingly, September was the first month of 2022 to record an increase in vehicle registrations compared to the same period a year ago. And even September of this year brought the third highest number of vehicle registrations since 2007, so you can see a really big hype in the car market, which is a bit surprising. — August 2022 was a record month for the number of car loans issued. Poles flocked to car dealerships, dealers and used car shops to buy a car - usually on credit - comments Nuno de Oliveira, CEO of Cofidis Polska.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will end the fourth quarter of 2022 with more vehicle registrations than we did in 2021. This is mainly due to the increasingly difficult financial situation, which has been deteriorating for several months now.

He is not only older, but also more expensive.

According to Cofidis Polska, the average price of a car purchased this year (in whole or in part with a loan) is around PLN 41,000. zloty. This is an increase of as much as 15%. compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the increase in the average price of a vehicle also goes hand in hand with the age of the car - the average age is already 7.8 years, which is also an increase of 0.4 years. The market data looks much worse, ie. the cars are older and the prices of purchased cars are lower because the Cofidis statistics are based on the professional car dealer market.

More expensive car, more expensive loan

The real increase in the purchase price of cars is higher and occurs not only due to an increase in car prices, but also due to an increase in the cost of loans. Therefore, according to representatives of Cofidis, it is worth focusing on the most profitable financial products - leasing or car loans. – The average age of cars owned by Poles is even higher, at 15.5 years. The Polish car fleet is aging and gaining value due to the still significant shortage in the market. The decline in supply is due to a number of factors during the pandemic, when supply chains were interrupted and the production of many items was limited or temporarily suspended. The situation on the market has not yet normalized, so the limited supply increases the prices of all vehicles on the market. says Marcin Schulz, Director of Commerce and Business Development at Cofidis Polska. — IBRM Samar indicates that used car prices rose by about 14%, and our data confirms this — he adds.

When the budget is limited

As indicated in the report of the Association of Financial Companies of Poland - “The situation on the consumer finance market” for the third quarter, the likelihood of Polish consumers purchasing durable goods, cars or apartments is decreasing. Over the next year, only 10.5 percent. of respondents are considering buying a car, and as many as 78 percent. (highest percentage) of respondents plan to finance these costs in whole or in part with a loan. By comparison, in the second quarter, 11.4% planned to buy a vehicle. respondents and 74.1%. decided to take a loan for this purpose.

Demand for cars will fall

17.2 percent inflation, a dynamic rise in prices for basic commodities - food, fuel, the media - empty the wallets of the Poles and deprive them of their savings. Already in the first half of the year, 13 per cent. of Polish households used savings, and even one in ten had debts. Faced with this situation, many people put off buying a car until later – if possible. Cofidis also believes that interest in buying a car may decline in the near future. You can already see that there has been more and more advertising from dealers and importers lately, which indicates fewer orders. “Company operating costs have risen by leaps and bounds, as have vehicle prices. Not surprisingly, demand for cars may be falling. In the coming months, we can expect used car prices to rise by up to 8 percent. In the new car market, the situation is a bit more difficult to predict. We notice that the consent of entrepreneurs to buy used cars is increasing, which in many cases saves several thousand PLN. It is worth considering the possibility of supporting the purchase of a car with cheaper forms of financing - leasing or car loans - Marcin Schulz says “On the other hand, 2023 is likely to see an increase in transaction prices, but it will be a small increase compared to the price fluctuations we have seen in recent months,” he adds.