Here’s how badly South Africa ranks in car affordability
A new study on car affordability has found that South Africa ranks worst when comparing the ratio of car prices to average disposable income in the country. According to the study conducted by Compare the Market Australia, and reported on by BusinessLive. South Africa ranks worse than Columbia, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. CAR […]
A new study on car affordability has found that South Africa ranks worst when comparing the ratio of car prices to average disposable income in the country.
According to the study conducted by Compare the Market Australia, and reported on by BusinessLive. South Africa ranks worse than Columbia, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
CAR AFFORDABILITY STUDY: HOW’S IT CALCULATED
It’s pretty simple, the team at Compare the Market Australia took nine models of car that are available across each of the seven countries and crunched the numbers.
They compared prices in each market and sourced income data from the Economic Cooperation Development Better Life Index (OECD) in each country. A ratio was calculated between disposable income and car prices.
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Another calculation was made to estimate how long buyers in each country would need to save to purchase each vehicle. You can check out the full graph/table above, but the worrying take-aways are these:
- It will take the average South African roughly three years to save up for a Ford Ranger, Toyota Corolla and Mazda CX-5. Versus less than a year in the other countries.
- South African Ford Rangers are the most affordable amongst the countries in the survey, followed by the Toyota Hilux.
- The Mazda 3 is most affordable in South Africa, requiring just two and half years savings.
- It will take the average South African eight years to save up for a car like the Jeep Grand Cherokee. In America it takes just eight months.
- South Africa has the most expensive Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics and Mitsubishi Outlanders surveyed (Although we will say that’s what the excellent, locally built Toyota Corolla Quest is for).
- Canada has the best/lowest prices overall across six of the nine cars. Even if it doesn’t have as much disposable income as the US.
CAR AFFORDABILITY: WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TELL ME?
It’s not all 100% accurate. For one thing, a Toyota Hilux and Tacoma are not a like-for-like pick-up truck, despite what many will say. And the mighty Hilux is not available in Canada or the US, so we take that comparison with a pinch of salt.
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What do you think? Are cars in South Africa too expensive? Let us know in the comments section below.