Carflation 2022

Last year, we took a look at which vehicles had seen the biggest increases in prices over the last decade and were hit by Carflation the hardest.

Now, we’ve refreshed the ranking to see how car prices have changed between 2012 and 2022 and which vehicles have changed in value the most in the last twelve months.

We’ve also looked back over the last three years, to see how the value of some of the first-ever electric vehicles in the UK look today and how much they have changed.

If these rapidly increasing price tags mean that buying a new car seems an unrealistic option for you, be sure to look into your options regarding car finance

Cost of driving for self-employed workers

For those who drive as part of their jobs, such as self employed taxi drivers, Uber drivers and delivery drivers, then the increasing cost of buying and running a car is even more significant.

When your car is being used for long hours each day, then it’s more likely to need repairs and ultimately will need to be replaced more frequently and you’ll obviously spend more money on fuel too.

However, if you’re self-employed, you can still claim back expenses. For example, you can claim back costs such as your car insurance, repairs and servicing, fuel, parking, and more.

However you cannot claim back any expenses on driving that is not related to the business, any time spent driving from home to work, or any fines that you pick up while working.

Visit GOV.UK for more information on claiming back vehicle expenses when you’re self-employed.

Vehicles with the most significant ten-year price increases

Renault Zoe

123.41%

increase

2012 price - £13,650 (63.5% of median salary)

2022 price - £30,495 (117.4% of median salary)

One of the only electric vehicles that was available in the UK back in 2012 was the Renault Zoe, with a price of just £13,650.

Volvo S60

95.66%

increase

2012 price - £22,785 (106.0% of median salary)

2022 price - £44,580 (171.7% of median salary)

Seeing its value increase by just less than double is the Volvo S60, which has increased from just over £22,750 to over £44,500 today. The S60 is a compact executive car and has been a mainstay of the Volvo range for over two decades.

Hyundai i20

90.45%

increase

2012 price - £9,995 (46.5% of median salary)

2022 price - £19,035 (73.3% of median salary)

While it remains a relatively affordable option at £19,035 (73.3% of average earnings), the Hyundai i20 has still seen its price increase significantly over the last decade, going up by 90.45% from £9,995 in 2012.

Key

Rank Car 2012 price Price as a % of median salary (2012) 2022 price Price as a % of median salary (2022) Price increase

Vehicles with the most significant one-year price increases

Vauxhall Astra

26.74%

increase

2021 price: £19,185

2022 price: £24,315

Even in the last year alone, some vehicles have seen a significant increase in their prices, none more so than the Vauxhall Astra, which saw its price go up by just over a quarter.

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

23.65%

increase

2021 price: £20,635

2022 price: £25,515

Unsurprisingly, the Sports Tourer version of the Vauxhall Astra isn’t far behind the standard version when it comes to its price increase, going up by 23.65% since last year.

Audi A4 Saloon

21.21%

increase

2021 price: £30,175

2022 price: £36,575

In third place in terms of a year on year increase is the Audi A4 Saloon, which has seen its price go up by 21.21%, from £30,175 to £36,575.

Key

Rank Car 2021 price 2022 price Price increase

Electric vehicles with the most significant price increases

Renault Zoe

39.12%

increase

2019 price: £21,920 (87.9% of median salary)

2022 price: £30,495 (117.4% of median salary)

Electric vehicles have only really become prominent on our streets in recent years, so we’ve also taken a look at how they’ve increased in price in the last three years.

Tesla Model S

32.48%

increase

2019 price: £71,700 (287.5% of median salary)

2022 price: £94,990 (365.8% of median salary)

Teslas are amongst the most popular electric vehicles but they can also be some of the most expensive too.

Tesla Model X

25.14%

increase

2019 price: £81,500 (326.8% of median salary)

2022 price: £101,990 (392.7% of median salary)

Another Tesla completes the top three EVs, with its list price having risen by about a quarter since 2019.

Key

Rank Car 2019 price Price as a % of median salary (2019) 2022 price Price as a % of median salary (2022) Price increase

How have other driving costs changed?

Unleaded

14%

increase

2012 price - £1.42

2022 price - £1.62

Diesel

19%

increase

2012 price - £1.48

2022 price - £1.76

Electric

56%

increase

2012 price - £0.14

2022 price - £0.22

When it comes to fuel, there’s been a steady increase in the costs of both unleaded and diesel, with diesel increasing slightly more.

In 2012 there was just six pence difference between a litre off unleaded and diesel, at £1.42 and £1.48.

Now, unleaded has risen by 14% to £1.62, while diesel has is now £1.76, an increase of 19%.

The price of oil has risen around the world in the last decade, which has consequently raised the price of fuel, with prices being further inflated by the COVID pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The cost of electricity has increased by an even greater amount, there has been a 56% rise in the average price per kwh in the past decade, increasing from 14p to 22p. However, electricity is still far cheaper than petrol and diesel.

Road tax

Comparing the cost of road tax between 2012 and 2022 is slightly more complicated as the methods used to calculate the rates have changed over the years.

However, we can see that in almost all cases, the cost has gone up, and in some cases quite significantly.

While in 2012, those with a vehicle emitting less than 131g/km were exempt from a registration fee, they now have to pay up to £230, with the government cracking down high polluting vehicles.

At the very top end of the scale, some drivers have to pay £1,550 more to register a car than they would have done ten years ago.

Key

CO2 emissions 2021 price 2022 price Difference

Diesel cars (TC49) that meet the RDE2 standard and petrol cars (TC48)

All other Diesel cars (TC49)

Alternative fuel cars (TC59)

Methodology

2022 vehicle prices were sourced from each manufacturer’s website and refer to the list price as of May 23 2022.

2021 vehicle prices were sourced from each manufacturer’s website and refer to the list price as of April 12 2021.

2012 and 2019 prices were sourced using the Wayback Machine by the Internet Archive, which shows archived versions of websites.

This allowed us to ‘go back’ to these years and find the list prices of those same vehicles. For each vehicle, we analysed the cheapest available model. Note that while prices may have changed throughout 2011, we took the prices from as close to May 23 2011 as possible.

Unfortunately, archived versions of sites for some brands such as Land Rover and Mini were unavailable, so these had to be omitted.

Median salary figures were sourced from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Fuel costs were sourced from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s monthly and annual prices of road fuels and petroleum products, taking the prices of premium unleaded and DERV for April 2012 and April 2022.

Road tax costs were sourced from GOV.UK’s vehicle tax rates (using Wayback Machine to source the 2012 rates).

Because the bands used to calculate the rates differ between the two years, we chose a number of specific emissions levels and compared the rates between 2012 and 2021 for each.

One of the only electric vehicles that was available in the UK back in 2012 was the Renault Zoe, with a price of just £13,650.

Today, that price has more than doubled to £30,495, although a big part of the reason for this is the government incentives in place.

In 2012, the Plug-in Car Grant meant that you could receive a discount of 25%, capped at £5,000, but today that cap has been dropped to £1,500.

Taking this into account alongside the wider inflation in prices, the cost to the consumer for one of these vehicles has skyrocketed over the last decade.

Since 2012, a newer generation of the S60 has been introduced, with a more expensive hybrid version also available too.

This supermini hatchback was still relatively new to the market back in 2012, but since then two new generations have been launched, including the most recent in 2020.

The newer i20s are larger and lower than ten years ago with redesigned sportier exterior and interior styling.

Even in the last year alone, some vehicles have seen a significant increase in their prices, none more so than the Vauxhall Astra, which saw its price go up by just over a quarter.

This can largely be put down to the fact that a new edition of the Astra was launched late last year, its eighth version in total.

This latest Astra has seen its wheelbase grow by 55 mm, upgraded to a 180-horsepower engine and is the first Astra available as a hybrid.

Unsurprisingly, the Sports Tourer version of the Vauxhall Astra isn’t far behind the standard version when it comes to its price increase, going up by 23.65% since last year.

The Sports Tourer is the Astra’s Estate variant and like the standard Astra has recently had an upgrade, with a larger boot and is also now being offered as a hybrid too.

In third place in terms of a year on year increase is the Audi A4 Saloon, which has seen its price go up by 21.21%, from £30,175 to £36,575.

The A4 Saloon has been on sale since 1994 and is a compact executive car that has long been a rival of its fellow German cars the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class.

Electric vehicles have only really become prominent on our streets in recent years, so we’ve also taken a look at how they’ve increased in price in the last three years.

As was the case when looking back ten years across all vehicles, it's the Renault Zoe that has had the biggest increase, with prices going up by around 40% in three years.

Again, this will partially be due to differences in the level of discount being offered on EVs by the government.

Teslas are amongst the most popular electric vehicles but they can also be some of the most expensive too.

In just three years the on-the-road price of a Tesla Model S has increased by around a third in the last three years.

The Model S is Tesla’s flagship model and received a refresh in June 2021, which will likely have played some part in the price increase.

Another Tesla completes the top three EVs, with its list price having risen by about a quarter since 2019.

The Model X is Tesla’s crossover SUV model, known for its falcon-wing doors. Like many other EVs, its range has grown gradually over time, as has its price.

A Tesla Model X doesn’t come cheap though, currently costing just under 400% of the median average earnings.