Has the fact that the car industry around the world is rapidly reorienting to the production of electric cars left an impression on car buyers in Latvia? Considering “Swedbank“The results of the research conducted on the trends of car purchase, it can be concluded that people in Latvia for the time being stick to the tested values - relatively cheap cars with a diesel engine.
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Although many are aware of and take into account the car’s impact on the environment, “greener” cars are not yet on the agenda of Latvian buyers due to their price. Therefore, experts do not do without state support for faster replacement of the car fleet, as is already the case, for example, in the neighboring countries of Lithuania and Estonia.
The results of the research show that the most common in Latvia so far is a car with a diesel engine (62% of respondents use it), and the number of “diesels” has not decreased in recent years, but has increased. In a similar Swedbank survey conducted in 2019, diesel cars were used by 13 percentage points less respondents (49%). Significantly, diesel cars are most common in the audience of younger respondents (25-34 years). In turn, every third car owner has chosen a petrol engine, while only 2% of hybrid cars.
It should be noted here that according to Swedbank data, the popularity of environmentally friendly cars in Latvia is increasing every year. Currently, about 7% of all leased passenger vehicles are hybrid or electric cars.
“The results of the research show that most Latvians still find electric cars difficult to reach due to their price. At the same time, we see that people are ready to spend more for each additional car than for the current one. This shows that the quality of the Latvian car fleet will gradually improve. As the price of electric cars falls and the number of recharging points expands, they are more likely to come to the attention of potential buyers, as the environmental factor becomes more and more important to people. However, in order to facilitate a faster fleet replacement, we cannot do without state support.Given that the transport sector is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Latvia and generates on average 29% of total emissions, it is clear that without more active state involvement It will not be possible to reduce the figures, so we very much hope that the review will come expect the state support programs for the purchase of such cars in the future, “comments Sergejs Romanņuks, Swedbank’s head of car financing.
The survey data show that in the near future almost every fourth respondent would like to buy a hybrid car (24%), while an electric car – almost every tenth respondent (9%). In turn, 34% of the population plan to buy a car with a diesel engine. It is the owners of diesel cars who most often choose an environmentally friendly car as the next car. The main reason for discouraging the purchase of environmentally friendly cars is related to the relatively high price of such cars (55% of respondents cite this as a reason) and the idea that such a car can be driven only a relatively short distance (34%). About a quarter of the respondents believe that the purchase of electric cars will not be relevant for them in the next 10 years.
At the same time, more than a fifth of respondents (21%) say that when buying a new car, an aspect such as the CO2 emissions of the car will be taken into account. Tax incentives and state support for car purchases (mentioned by 27% of respondents) are also among the facilitators that could help to decide in favor of purchasing electric cars.
“For example, Lithuania and Estonia have specially developed state support programs for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars to facilitate faster fleet replacement. In Lithuania, the state provides a subsidy of 2,000 euros for a used car and 4,000 euros for a new car. Estonia also regularly develops special support programs. This is also the reason why neighboring countries are ahead of Latvia in this area, with more than 1,000 more environmentally friendly cars rolling on the roads in the Baltics last year with Swedbank funding, most of which were purchased in Estonia (450), followed by Lithuania (375) and Latvia (187), “notes Romanuks.
When it comes to replacing a car, more than half of the respondents have admitted that they plan to buy a new car in the next five years. True, the word “new” here should be understood as new to a particular person, because 65% of people are going to buy a used car and more than half do not plan to spend more than 10 thousand euros on it.
The three most important aspects that people take into account when thinking about buying a car are: financial opportunities and savings (62% of respondents mention this as the most important aspect); car price (54%); comfort provided by a new car (37%). The most common source of financing for the purchase of a car is personal savings (49%), followed by car leasing (19%) and a consumer loan or a loan for the purchase of a car (17%).
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