This Renault was worth 10,000 euros four years ago, its new price is unimaginable

The price of this popular Renault experienced an incredible variation between 2019 and 2023.

The years pass and the observation remains: the purchase of a new car represents a significant expense, often of several tens of thousands of euros. The inflation that has affected France since the first months of 2022 has obviously not helped anything. But can she explain? What is the only reason for the variation in prices of certain car models observed in recent times? Certainly not according to the non-governmental organization Transport & Environment which unveiled a study on the evolution of prices of small entry-level cars. The results are unequivocal: prices have soared, well beyond what was expected. of the 4 or 5% of overall inflation recorded in the country for two years.

The work carried out by the NGO reveals how city dwellers are hit hardest by rising prices. This is a shame for models intended for the most modest households. At the top of the ranking of cars whose price has increased the most; in four years, we find the best-selling mini city car in France: the Twingo. Appearing like a UFO in the French automobile fleet in 1993, the most popular Renault blew up. its 30 candles this year.

In 2019, according to Transport & Environment, the entry-level price of the Twingo III, the latest release on the market, was displayed at 10,300 euros in concession. Four years later, the same generation model costs… 16,100 euros (16,750 euros in November according to our figures). That’s an increase of 56%!

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The diamond brand's star city car – there will be almost 1.2 million of them on our roads in 2023 – is not the only car in the small car segment with a wide range of options. having seen its price soar. The NGO cites other mainstream models like the Peugeot 208 or the Seat Ibiza but also more high-end models like the Mercedes A class or the BMW Series 1. If the Manufacturers mainly highlight the rise in the prices of energy and raw materials to justify the increase in their prices, there are other explanations.

< p>The first being that car manufacturers, particularly Europeans, have chosen to drastically reduce their production of city cars in recent years. By producing On a smaller scale, manufacturing costs naturally increase. The other explanation is find in the electrification of vehicles. Forced to produce more and more vehicles equipped with one or more batteries, brands have seen their expenses skyrocket. To cushion them, they have chosen to significantly increase the prices of their small models which ultimately have no more popularity than the name.

Face à àgrave; the difficulty To make city cars profitable, today supplanted by SUVs, manufacturers are adapting. Thus, Renault has already announced that it would cease production of its Twingo in 2024– including the recent E-Tech electric version – despite this. sales scores still very decent. The failure to replace small cars is also a bad signal for motorists who could find it increasingly difficult to get there. find new vehicles nearby affordable prices. Except at low prices. turn to Chinese brands, and again, given the financial constraints that will be imposed on them, from next January, by the French government. through its ecological bonus/penalty system.