Vehicle prices continue to rise with passenger vehicle insurance premiums leading the way (up 5.9%), according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. DAC’s latest update looks at the automotive consumer price index percent change of December 2023 compared to December 2022.
“As the Bank of Canada continues to hold rates in the fight against notably ‘sticky’ inflation, the automotive industry continues to see price increases across most categories through 2023,” said DAC. “The CPI for the purchase of new passenger vehicles increased 3.4%, contrasted against used passenger vehicles, which saw CPI rise just 0.3% from December 2022 to December 2023.”
DAC said these figures reflect a sharp moderation in the rate of increase in vehicle prices compared to the very notable jumps seen over the last two years. For example, gasoline experienced a 1.4% growth compared to December 2022 — interesting for a category that sees the sharpest swings. And CPI for passenger vehicle maintenance services and replacement parts rose 5.3% and 5.8%, respectively.
However, DAC noted that it was passenger vehicle insurance premiums that experienced the most significant increase between December 2022 and December 2023.
“While not the increases we saw at the ends of 2021 and 2022, the auto industry — much like the market at large — continued to see persistent growth in CPI as of December 2023, with the costs of owning a vehicle still rising noticeably,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement.
