UK car prices high but sales up
THE UK IS one of the most expensive countries in which to buy a car, a study by price comparison site Confused has concluded.
The study involved the price analysis of entry-level hatchback, SUV, electric car and sports car segments, and the UK placed 10th in three of the four categories.
With an average cost of £24,430, the UK was ranked the 10th most expensive place to buy a Volkswagen Golf out of 29 countries.
Based on prices of a Toyota RAV4, the UK was also listed as the 10th most expensive country out of 43 in which to buy an SUV, with an average price of £31,945.
The average cost of an electric car in the UK was £42,990, using the Tesla Model 3 as the benchmark, again placing the UK 10th out of 40, according to Confused.
The US was named the cheapest place to buy a hatchback, with an average price of £17,082, while SUV prices were deemed to be the lowest in Canada, coming in at £16,796.
Macau was found to be the cheapest place to buy an electric car, with an average price of £29,739. Sports car prices, based on the Ford Mustang, were lowest in Canada, where the average was £18,586.
Singapore was named the most expensive place to buy an SUV (£95,497) and an electric car (£61,486). EV prices were significantly lower than those for SUVS in the country because drivers can take advantage of a vehicle emissions scheme worth £13,745 (S$25,000) or an early-adopters incentive of £10,995 (S$20,000).
Cambodia commands the highest prices for sports cars out of 48 countries, with a cost of £106,785, affected by vehicle and import taxes.
The survey was released as January’s sales data showed that the new car market in the UK continues to grow, with a 27.5% surge from the same month last year. However, the 115,087 cars registered are still 22.9% down on January 2020, showing that the market still has some way to go to recover from the turbulence of the pandemic.
Used car sales were strong in 2021, with 7,530,956 units sold. That represents an 11.5% uplift on 2020, with second-hand EVS accounting for 40,228 transactions.