NEW car average prices around the globe continue to accelerate post-COVID but a new survey on country of origin pricing shows that not all countries are charging more.

Prices of cars made in China, for example, have levelled out and the country is now making the most affordable cars available in Australia.

Research by Australian new car research company TheBeep.com.au has found that there are 13 brands manufacturing vehicles in China and selling them in Australia – BMW, BYD, Chery, Citroen, GWM Haval, JAC, LDV, MG, Mini, Polestar, smart, Tesla and Volvo.

TheBeep’s founder Rob Leigh said his business – which tracks the price of new vehicles and gives customers an insight into what is available in price segments – calculated the pricing on 1272 different models. The prices published are for the base model without any options.In nominating China as the source of Australia’s cheapest cars, TheBeep noted that this was despite China making more expensive luxury models such as the BMW iX3 and Volvo XC60 Recharge (both produced in China).

China is poised to raise the price averages of its cars with new arrivals such as Zeekr and XPeng including upmarket models aimed at the traditional prestige market.

Mr Leigh said that one surprise is the rise of the average prices of South Korean cars.

South Korean models are up 11.9 per cent which is attributed to the more luxurious positioning of new models, including the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and the $100,000-plus Kia EV6 N.

Rob Leigh

“On the flip side, Germany has significantly reduced pricing – by 11.8 per cent – which is due to Porsche reducing its model line-up,” Mr Leigh said.

“It offers fewer 911 variants in the new model, bringing down the average purely through a change in product offering.”

US prices have lifted recently on increases in some brands such as Jeep, while the UK prices have tapered off in line with reduced sales and some models being discontinued, including the Jaguar XE and XF.

Mr Leigh said that in calculating all the models and the price changes, TheBeep has not included those from countries such as India, Poland, Portugal and others.

“They all produce cheap cars but have been excluded as their volumes are significantly smaller,” he said.