March 12, 2021
The information was prepared by Oskars Skarnelis, Altero’s Head of Marketing and Communications in the Baltic States.
Since the pandemic changed people’s daily lives almost all over the world, the curves characterizing the habits of used car buyers in Latvia and the other two Baltic States have developed in opposite directions. While in Latvia the average loan amount for the purchase of a vehicle is declining, in Lithuania and Estonia buyers are spending more and more money for the purchase of cars, according to data compiled by the financial comparison platform Altero.lv.
The purchase of a car is seasonal. Even the desire of customers to find out loan offers for the purchase of a car increases in the period from March to September, when on average 17% of applications on the Altero platform are directly for a car loan. However, the year 2020 was different, because last summer the average share of car loan applications was 13%, significantly decreasing in March – up to 9%. A similar trend was observed in Lithuania.
Before declaring a state of emergency, Latvians borrowed more than Lithuanians to buy a car – on average 5,078 euros, while their southern neighbors 4,835 euros. However, during the year, the amount of credit in our market decreased by a wave and had already dropped to 4140 euros in August.
In Lithuania, the scenario was slightly different – in March 2020, with the entry into force of the restrictions, a capable drop to 3289 euros per car was experienced. Since then, the curve has mostly led upwards, and in August, the southern neighbors borrowed 3,983 euros to buy a car, and in December, even 4,729 euros. In the last month of the year, the average loan amount in Latvia was 4,292 euros, which is 437 euros less.
“Although car purchases are seasonal, data on borrowing reveal both how each Baltic country has struggled with the pandemic and consumer sentiment at different times of the year. Feel about work and income in the foreseeable future. possibly towards the end of the year the average amount is affected by seasonality – people choose to buy a cheaper car or vice versa – used car owners offer lower prices, “the results are analyzed by Altero Chief Operating Officer Evija Simanoviča.
In Estonia, the comparison of car purchase financing on the Altero platform has been available only since the summer of 2020, but a steady increase in the amount of borrowing has been observed all the time – from 3125 euros in August to 8200 euros in December. The differences in these averages can be explained by the fact that Altero has just started its operations in Estonia and the number of applications is deliberately increasing every month.
About the company:
Altero’s financial comparison platform is a fast-growing startup company in Latvia, founded in 2016, Lithuania in 2019 and Estonia in spring 2020. The Altero platform has more than 150,000 customers, and the number of partners in the Baltic States is more than 60 lenders and 6 insurance companies in Latvia.
Additional information:
Oskars Skarnelis,
Altero Head of Marketing and Communications in the Baltic States
E-pasts: [email protected]
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