Used car prices rose 67% in September this year compared to March 2020, according to a new analysis from second-hand sales website DoneDeal. The study found that the annual inflation rate for used cars is 21%. The increases reflect the market turbulence since Covid-19, the difficulty in accessing used cars and the increase in demand. The analysis, based on ads on DoneDeal, also shows that the price inflation rate for low-cost cars was higher than for higher-value vehicles. According to the report, the quarterly inflation rate for cars under €6,000 was 6.4% compared to 3.3% for cars over €20,000. In 2022, used car prices increased 7.4% from January to March. The pace of growth then fell to 3.1%, before rising to 3.5% in the third quarter. By contrast, the inflation rate in 2018 and 2019 averaged just 0.8%. The low availability of used cars was exacerbated by growth in demand from June to December last year. Demand decreased from March to July this year, but then increased 5.8% from July to September. The study also found that when it comes to cars at the lower end of the market, the higher prices that can be achieved mean that emissions targets are not a deterrent to importing less environmentally sustainable used models. However, it also notes that the CO2 emissions of all imported new and used cars in the first half of 2022 were 17.3% lower than those of imported cars in the first half of last year. Part of the reason is the number of new electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads. Sales of new electric vehicles have soared, but have not yet led to many electric vehicles entering the used market, with electric vehicles accounting for 1% of secondhand sales. Speaking to Morning Ireland, Dr Tom Gillespie, environmental economist and author of the DoneDeal motor report, explained why prices have risen since the start of the pandemic. "During the pandemic there was a shortage of microchips, a decrease in supply of new cars but also we had the impact of Brexit. We would usually get a huge proportion of our cars entering the market from the UK, but after Brexit that almost halved. We had a big choke in supply, and strong demand for cars during the pandemic, and we also saw peoples' saving increase," he said, reports RTE. Mr. Gillespie said that inflation outpaced the depreciation of cars, which meant that cars increased in value. He gave an example of the price change on an Audi A4. "If you take a 2013 Audi A4 - last year in September 2021 that would have been an average price of around € 11,200, and if there was normal inflation you would expect that car today to depreciate and be around € 9,800 - but instead it has gone up and that car would now be worth around €12,400 so that is an increase of 11%," he explained, reports RTE. When it comes to electric vehicles, Gillespie said prices on the used market c
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