Buy a car in installments now it’s worth it. With the cut in financing rates, many new opportunities are opening up for all those families short of liquidity, also put in the position of renewing their fleet of cars. “To buy a 25,000 car entirely in installments, with a 10-year loan – estimates the Autonomous Federation of Italian Banks (FABI) -, the total cost went from 37,426 euros at the end of 2021 to 48,961 euros at the end of 2023, while now it could drop to 38,101 euroswith an overall saving of 10,859 euros (-22.2%) compared to the rates at the end of 2023″.
A breath of fresh air
In a country, like Italy, where the average age of the car fleet in circulation is high (12 years and 6 months according to the latest investigations), an unmissable opportunity looms, to be seized immediately. The 2024 ecobonuses on electric cars sold out in a few hours show the propensity to purchase of private individuals (and businesses), who, put in the position of being able to purchase a new vehicle, respond enthusiastically to the prospect of purchasing a low or zero emission car. This is also considering the phenomenon of climate change, which is clearly evident especially in this period.
Compared to certain European states, where the economic situation is more prosperous, Italy continues to experience wage stagnation. A situation that has dragged on for many, too many years, despite numerous changes in Government. The obstacle of access prices is important, also because in the space of a few years the price lists have undergone a strong increase. See the case of the Dacia Sandero which in 2018 cost around 7,500 euros, while today you need to shell out a minimum of 12,500 euros. In the meantime, the improved equipment and the outbreak of inflation led to a sharp increase in prices. And the figures grow further in the case of electric cars, which should take over after the ban on petrol and diesel cars in 2035, despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defining it as “ideological madness”.
Reduction in the cost of money
“The reduction in the cost of money decided today by the European Central Bank represents a fundamental turning point for the euro area: for the banks, which in part had already anticipated the rate cut for months, there will be an opportunity, in the coming months, to further improve the conditions applied on mortgages to families and on loans to businesses – communicates FABI -. Over the course of 2024, further reductions will probably be approved by the ECB, with the base rate likely to fall to 3.5%-3.75% by December. Inflation, therefore, should remain at decidedly less worrying levels compared to the flare-ups of 2022 and 2023, thus promoting price stability.
Overall, this will result in an advantage for the economic cycle, starting from consumption and extending to the real estate market and beyond, with a significant boost to the growth of the entire GDP of both the Eurozone and, in particular, Italy. Today’s decision also has an important political significance, since the ECB has shown its ability to be independent from the choices of the American Federal Reserve, which has always influenced European monetary policy: this time the ECB has decided to cut the cost of money despite the Fed recently postponing the reduction on the dollar”.
