Was your CAR dearer 10-years in the past in South Africa?
Oddly, the primary problem in checking in case your automobile was dearer 10-years in the past in South Africa is finding comparable models. The speedy rise in compact crossovers caught everybody by storm, and dozens of once-popular cars a decade ago are not with us. And, to really examine if new-car costs had been dearer 10-years in the past, we want mannequin continuity.
Thankfully, there are a minimum of a couple of nameplates that have survived the rise of the compact crossover. So, we are able to precisely examine in case your present automobile was in reality dearer 10-years in the past with inflation-adjusted pricing. Or, sadly, in case your present set of wheels is wildly overpriced. Here we go …
WAS YOUR CAR MORE EXPENSIVE 10-YEARS AGO?
Let’s begin the ball rolling with ‘peoples’ cars‘ lets. The Volkswagen Polo is a South African favorite, being the perennial top-seller in Mzansi for the final decade. In 2014, a 1.2 TSI (81 kW) Highline auto retailed for R251 900. Today, in 2024, the equal new Polo is the 1.0 TSI (85 kW) R-Line is R468 800. The R216 900 (46%) value enhance over 10 years could seem extreme, however what about after we regulate it for inflation?
Well, the scary reality is, R291 500, adjusted for inflation over a decade, equates to R472 923. Which really means the 2024 Polo is cheaper than its 2014 forbear was again then. Economists wish to say inflation solely is aware of a technique … And what goes up should proceed to go up, and up, and up once more. As a consequence, R1 in 2014 is R1.62 in 2024. So, what we wish to see is how far aside the 2024 value is from the 2014 +inflation determine. That provides us our % distinction within the last column (beneath).
INFLATION IS A PAIN
So, we’ve tabulated ten fashionable automobiles to see in case your automobile was certainly dearer 10-years in the past in South Africa. We’ll solely examine like-for-like fashions (full element within the footnotes beneath) to maintain comparisons correct. Of course, producers will argue their 2024 choices have all-new know-how and better security specification. Meanwhile, some marques are underneath fully new possession constructions versus one-decade in the past. However, our purpose is to see which producers are doing all they will to beat value inflation. And as you’ll see, some sectors like efficiency automobiles and bakkies are literally faring notably effectively …
| VEHICLE | 2014 value | 2024 value | 2014 +inflation | Difference |
| Ford Ranger | R509 900 | R732 600 | R827 250 | -11% |
| Audi RS4 Avant | R1 021 500 | R1 547 100 | R1 657 258 | -6.6% |
| VW Polo | R251 900 | R468 800 | R472 923 | -0.8% |
| Suzuki Jimny | R234 900 | R449 900 | R381 096 | +18% |
| BMW X5 | R877 309 | R1 708 673 | R1 423 326 | +20% |
| Corolla Quest | R197 900 | R414 800 | R320 906 | +29.2% |
| Renault Duster | R238 900 | R465 999 | R387 586 | +20% |
| Nissan X-Trail | R364 200 | R810 900 | R590 869 | +37.1% |
| Opel Corsa | R201 300 | R454 900 | R326 584 | +39.2% |
| Merc C-Class | R477 000 | R1 109 944 | R775 334 | +43% |
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CURRENT NEW-CAR PRICES?
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