New car prices continue to lag inflation, while used cars continue their trend of getting relatively more expensive, data from cThe latest TransUnion SA Vehicle Pricing Index for new vehicles moved from 6.0% in Q2 2021 to 3.9% in Q2 2022, with the used vehicle index soaring from 4.9% to 8.3% in the same period.
As a result of these pricing trends, the ratio of used to new vehicles sold shifted significantly in the past quarter, said TransUnion. A year ago, 2.67 used vehicles were sold for every new vehicle; in 2022 Q2, this declined to 2.1. In the used vehicle market, 27% of cars sold were less than two years old, and this continues to decrease as the supply of quality used vehicles remains under pressure. Demo models financed made up 4% of used financed deals, which indicates consumers are opting for older vehicles as quality supply diminishes and pressure on disposable income increases.
The second-most-popular finance band for both new and used vehicles, was R200,000-R300,000, with 30% of deals falling in this bracket, while the least-popular band was under R200,000, seeing 25% of all agreements.