Used-car prices climb

The price of buying used cars has increased by the highest annual amount in nearly a decade, according to new figures from Stats NZ.

Aaron Beck, prices senior manager, says the climb of 8.2 per cent in the year to March 2021 is the largest for the sector since 2012.

It comes after the cost of used vehicles for consumers increased by 4.4 per cent in the March 2021 quarter when compared to the final three months of the previous year. 

The rise follows a 4.6 per cent jump in the December 2020 quarter.

Overall, the price of purchasing new and used vehicles increased 2.6 per cent in the March 2021 quarter.

On an annual basis, prices in the new-car market were up 1.4 per cent at the end of March.

“There have been many delays with imports of goods into New Zealand,” explains Beck. 

“This may have resulted in fewer cars available for sale.

“Also, international travel has been restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which may have boosted demand for used cars as people wanted other ways to spend their money.”

The increases from the car industry contributed to an 0.8 per cent lift in the consumers price index (CPI) in the March 2021 quarter.

In the same period, transport prices were up 3.9 per cent, the biggest quarterly rise in more than a decade.

Petrol prices climbed 7.2 per cent, the largest jump since June 2015, despite the cost of fuel being 3.8 per cent lower than at the same stage a year ago.

“Global oil prices plunged in early 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold,” explains Beck. “Prices have risen since then.”

The weighted average price of a litre of 91 octane was $2 in the March 2021 quarter, up from $1.87 in the December 2020 quarter and down from $2.09 in the March 2020 quarter.

Regionally, petrol prices rose 6.5 per cent in Auckland, 5.3 per cent in Wellington, and 7.9 per cent in Canterbury in the first three months of this year.

The fall in petrol prices offset the increasing costs for buying new housing and rental property.

Annual inflation for the year to March 2021 was 1.5 per cent, slightly higher than the 1.4 per cent increase in the year to December 2020.