New car prices rise to 38,000 euros - PHEVs and SUVs as drivers

New car prices in Germany continue to rise sharply. Despite the Corona crisis, the average purchase amounts increased by 8.1 percent, with German new car buyers spending an average of 37,710 euros on their vehicles. In the luxury class, it is even 54,077 euros. This was revealed by an analysis by the CAR Institute. In addition to highly demanded motorhomes, SUVs with plug-in hybrid drives are also enjoying great popularity. Almost every third new car belongs to this category and typically features generous engine or system performance. Here, 60 kW strong electric motors are often supplemented by turbo gasoline engines, which typically result in over 200 hp of total power. PHEVs in general have increased their market share from 0.9 to 5.1 percent due to high government subsidies.

Daimler sold 45,000 PHEV models in the third quarter

For example, the Daimler Group reported selling 45,000 PHEV and electric models in the third quarter of 2020 and sees itself on a good path to meeting EU limits. Customers generally tend to opt for higher-priced models such as SUVs or luxury vehicles like the S-Class, noted CFO Harald Wilhelm when presenting the latest figures, revealing an unexpectedly high profit of 4.3 billion euros and 5.1 billion euros in so-called "Free Cashflow." Premium competitor BMW also reported a sharply increased "Free Cashflow" of 3.07 billion euros, with the third quarter bringing a sales increase of 8.6 percent. 

But the trend towards more luxury or greater range is also apparent among pure electric vehicles. Here, the average purchase price is now 47,454 euros, a slight decrease, but one that suggests that besides Tesla, Audi e-tron, and others, there are now also electric cars with high range in the compact and lower segments, especially from Korean manufacturers within the Hyundai Group alongside Renault.

In general, individual motorized transportation has somewhat increased during the Corona crisis. In any case, according to a McKinsey study, 74 percent of respondents consider their own car to be a safe mode of transportation, but only 14 percent view public transport as such.