<Anchor> In the
United States, it has become a natural thing to have to pay extra to buy a car. Because it is so difficult to buy a car, the price of the used car market has risen by more than 45%, and it is analyzed that the automobile market is driving the rising inflation in the US.
Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York covered the site.
<Reporter>
A car store in New Jersey, USA.
When you say you want to buy an SUV, the salesperson says there aren't many cars to show you.
[Car sales staff: Take a look at the garage. That's all we have. (Do you have more stuff? Another garage?) That's all. (Isn’t the supply insufficient?) Yes.]
And he explains that it is natural for the original price to have a premium, that is, a premium, because there is a shortage of cars.
[Car sales staff: (Is there a premium (premium) over the consumer price?) Absolutely. They are up to $10,000. The car market is crazy.]
The consumer price of the 8-seater minivan that the reporter test drove on that day was $35,000.
The sales staff offered the final price by adding an extra 7,000 dollars to this and about 8 million Korean won.
[Car Sales Staff: $6,995. (Is that a premium (premium)?) That's right. (Before the corona crisis) You gave a discount of 1,000 to 5,000 dollars each time you buy a car, right? Now you can think of it as just the opposite. I have worked in the automobile industry for 10 years, but this is the first time in my life.]
Around this time around the US Independence Day, I was able to buy tea at a considerable discount, but now I want to give it a premium on the consumer price rather than a discount. It is difficult to find a car.
This is happening as automobile production has drastically decreased due to a shortage of semiconductors, while demand has surged due to economic recovery and low interest rates after the corona crisis.
[Steve Lee / New Jersey Hyundai Motor Product Manager: Demand decreased after the pandemic, but now it has increased by 100% compared to last year.] The
average price of new cars in the United States has risen by more than 7% compared to last year, and the used car market is more serious. The price has risen by over 45%.
For this reason, there is even an analysis that the price of automobiles is driving the recent surge in US prices.
[Andrew McDowell/Financial Planner: Demand focused on the used car market raised the overall CPI by 1%. This is absolutely absurd.] An
unprecedented rally in car prices is expected to continue for some time amid growing concerns about inflation.
(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook, video editing: Jung Yong-hwa)