Vehicle prices ‘falling at rapid pace’

It seems Houses are not the only thing in soft demand in a dwindling economy and not the only falls setting records.

New vehicle prices are falling at the fastest rate ever recorded, a team of analysts have said, squeezing automakers’ profit margins at a time of slumping sales but setting the stage for a sales rebound once the economy improves.

JPMorgan auto analyst Himanshu Patel and economic analyst Marc Levinson said in a research report that the average price of a new vehicle in the second quarter fell 2.3 per cent from a year earlier to $US25,632 ($A31,624.92), citing government data. That’s the steepest drop recorded in the bank’s 41-year-old survey, the analysts said.

» Vehicle prices ‘falling at rapid pace’ – The Sydney Morning Herald, 6th September 2008