When it was new in 2019, a Toyota Tacoma SR pickup cost less than $ 29,000. Now, two years later, dealers in the United States pay almost $ 1,000 more to buy it, even though it is used. And they sell it to customers for over $ 33,000, says AP.
This is the strange world of the automotive market in the world’s largest economy, where the pandemic and global shortage of computer chips have raised prices to record levels.
In the last year, the prices of used cars have risen by an average of 30%, according to the Black Book. This creates an abnormal situation in which many of the most sought-after cars are sold for more used than they cost as new, said Alex Yurchenko, the company’s senior vice president. “The market is very strange at the moment. Dealers need cars and pay a lot for them.”
Yurchenko found 73 models between the ages of 1 and 3, which were sold at auctions, where dealers buy, for prices above the original, when the car was new.
The prices of used cars accounted for a third of the total increase in consumer prices last month, according to the Department of Commerce. In April, they rose by 10%, and in May by another 7.3%. Total inflation was 5%, a record since 2008. According to Edmunds.com, the average price of a used car reaches $ 26,457.
Today’s market situation is due to the decision of carmakers in April and May last year to close their plants for eight weeks to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. This reduced production and limited stocks at a time when demand was unexpectedly strong.
But factories reopened earlier than expected, while semiconductor makers switched to chips for phones, laptops, gaming systems and more that were in high demand. This in turn created a shortage of chips for cars and forced some companies to close factories again.
The lack of new cars sent Americans to look for used cars. In addition, car rental companies, which usually supply the used car market, have stopped selling because they cannot buy new ones, Yurchenko said.
Fortunately, there are signs that price increases are already slowing. Last week, used cars rose by an average of 0.75%, the slowest weekly growth in 17 weeks. Normalization of prices will depend on the supply of chips, says Yurchenko.
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