Car prices in Germany rising due to chip shortage

An international microchip shortage is not only affecting car production but is also making itself felt in the wallets of new and used car buyers in Germany, according to experts, reported dpa.

Because fewer cars are being produced and put on the market, there are also fewer discounts, according to industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer.

A typical new car became more expensive by some 360 euros (420 dollars) in August and September.

Dudenhoeffer expects the current trend to continue. "In the next few months, too, new car buyers will have to reckon with falling discounts," he says.

Customers who want to switch to a used car, however, will have to reckon with even larger price increases.

In July and August, typical three-year-old used cars became about two -and-a-half-per-cent more expensive, according to figures from the market analysts Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (DAT).

Data for September is not yet available, but DAT also expects a further increase.

"The used car market is currently experiencing a surge in prices," a DAT spokesperson said.

And here, too, the chip shortage is partly to blame, because, due to the supply bottlenecks, many prospective new car buyers are switching to a newer used car.