The dream of buying a brand new, unpretentious and, above all, affordable car in Europe is officially dead. While until recently, sums of around 12,000 - 15,000 euros were quite enough for a decent city car, today the average price of a deal on the Old Continent is skyrocketing. Analysts often justify this crisis with the general increase in the cost of living - a jump in rents, a drastic increase in insurance premiums, expensive food and high interest rates on leases. The truth, however, is much deeper and reveals a complex internal game of the industry itself, aided by the heavy regulatory pressure of Brussels.
On the one hand, the defenders of the industry point out the fact that modern basic cars offer technologies that a decade ago were a trademark only for premium segment shuttles. Today, even the cheapest model leaves the showroom with automatic emergency braking, radars, lane keeping assistant, cameras and huge touchscreens with smart integration. If we take the Volkswagen Polo, emblematic for the European market, as an example, its price has jumped dramatically compared to the past, but the buyer objectively receives a much safer and more sophisticated product. In short - we pay more, but the technological quantity in return is greater.
However, the medal also has a much darker flip side: the complete and deliberate destruction of the ultra-budget A-segment in Europe. Where have affordable urban legends like the Ford Fiesta, Skoda Citigo or the basic French “tiny” cars disappeared to? Car manufacturers have simply crossed them out of their catalogs. The reason is simple – the strict Euro 6e environmental standards (and the upcoming Euro 7), combined with the new mandatory EU safety systems that come into force this month, make the production of small cars economically unprofitable. To equip a cheap car with the necessary radars and catalytic converters, the costs rise so much that its final price becomes absurd for the consumer.
In this reality, it has become much more profitable for concerns to produce larger, heavier and more expensive crossovers (SUVs), where the profit margin is huge. Assembling small batches of basic configurations is economic suicide for dealers who prefer to keep refined modifications in stock. Ultimately, the European buyer is faced with an artificial deficit. He doesn't buy big, expensive SUVs simply because he loves them, but because the industry has taken away his right to cheap choices. General inflation undoubtedly bites the wallet, but to be honest with ourselves, we have to admit: the European auto industry has purposefully closed the door to poor buyers, turning a new car into a luxury for the chosen ones.