LCT changes drive some new car prices down

AS USUAL there is plenty of price “adjustment” going on in the new car market this month with an interesting twist due to changes in the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) that has seen some reductions from a higher trigger price.

It is good news for consumers, that is for sure.

But according to data from the RJ Pound Pricing Guide, some manufacturers have taken the opportunity to raise their prices on the back of slightly revised “update” models the tune of thousands of dollars for not much extra kit.

Alfa Romeo’s Giulia Quadrifoglio small sedan jumps $8200 to $151,700 plus on-road costs for the update and a few other variants have been dropped rationalising the line-up. The Alfa Tonale Veloce rises $1500 to $57,900 +ORC while the new Tonale Veloce PHEV arrives at $77,500 +ORC. The potent Stelvio Quadrifoglio goes up by $7200 to $160,700 +ORC.

Numerous Audis enjoy a LCT downwards price adjustment of between $400 to under $2000 model dependent.

BMW’s new 5 Series pricing was announced starting at $114,900 +ORC for the kick off 520i, a $7200 jump from the previous list price. Other variants are up from there, one to $215,900 +ORC. The X1 xDrive M35i lobs at $90,900 +ORC and the Bavarian manufacturer added $5000 apiece to the list price of its four model IX coupe range starting with the IX xDrive40 that now goes for $135,900 +ORC. A new addition to the X7 range is the petrol powered xDrive 40i M Sport wagon at $167,900 +ORC.

BYD’s new three-variant Dolphin EV range is listed at a starting point of $38,890 +ORC up to $49,990 +ORC for the range-topper.

Cupra has taken the opportunity of its MY24 line up arrival to add between $1500 and $2000 to the bottom line of most variants starting with the Leon V hatch that moves from $43,990 to $45,190 +ORC. The Born EV remains unchanged at $59,990 +ORC and the two limited edition Formentor Rojo and Matrix are spent.

The Ford Mustang GT Convertible gets an LCT haircut to $74,412 +ORC, a saving of $770 while the Everest Wildtrak and Platinum 3.0-litre range toppers drop a few hundred apiece through LCT adjustment at $72,804 and $77,000 +ORC respectively.

Most of the Genesis range is LCT price adjusted down by as much as $1500 model dependent.

GWM’s Ora small EV hatch is repriced downwards starting with the entry Standard Range model that has dropped by $4500 to $39,990 +IRC. Other variants have appreciable reductions too while an additional Ultra Ora appears at $48,990 +ORC. Drive-away pricing applies to all other GWM models.

As it does to all the Honda range, including the new ZR-V that starts at $40,200.

Hyundai’s Ioniq6 Epiq scores a $700 LCT price drop to $87,288 +ORC and you get $19 off the Ioniq 5 AWD Epiq. LCT reductions of up to $1500 apply to top-of-the-line Palisade while the new Kona small SUV arrives priced from $32,000, an increase of $5100 on the previous model’s entry point.

Quite a few Jaguar models benefit from LCT price reductions, but the XE Sport AWD sedan jumps $525 to $80,450 +ORC with an MY24 update. Interestingly, Jaguar’s listing in the RJ Pound price guide shows several models not receiving the benefit of reduced LCT.

Wholesale price changes have affected the Land Rover/Range Rover line-up with ups and downs according to LCT adjustments and or MY24 repricing. Five new PHEV models arrived starting with the Evoque PHEV Autobiography at $115,975 +ORC and going up from there in size and price.

LDV slices up to $2000 off some Mifa models and makes others drive away. There has been some minor up and down fiddling with D90 wagon prices which are now drive away as are the G10, V80 and Deliver vans after a price hike.

Lexus has dropped its IS sedan from the line-up to now start with the ES range. More expensive models enjoy an LCT price cut of varying size price dependent and some of the higher spec’ UX range goes up a few hundred dollars.

Mazda left the 3’s price alone, but added $600 to the entire Mazda6 sedan and wagon range starting with the Sport sedan at $36,240 +ORC. The MX-5 sports car went up by $600 across the range, but the CX-3 copped a $1300 increase to now start at $26,800 +ORC. Mazda also slapped $400 onto the CX-30 and MX-30, while the CX-5 got a $600 increase, and the CX-8 went up $600 across the board. Some CX-9 and CX-90 variants saw LCT price reductions.

Nissan slapped $500 on its X-Trail range starting with the base ST 2WD at $37,250 +ORC, an extra $2740 on Patrol and $750 on Navara.

Polestar added between $1000 and $3500 to the price of its heavily revised 2 model that now starts at $67,400 +ORC.

Something unlikely to be seen very often is price reductions to all Porsches… driven by LCT adjustments. These are numerous and exclude options and delivery charges.

Ram dropped a couple of variants and repriced its range upwards, including for the range-topping 1500 TRX performance model that went from $209,950 to $224,950 +ORC, the largest increase in the range.

Suzuki added between $1000 and $2000 to Swift’s sticker price and an even $1000 to the price of the Ignis. The Jimny also goes up by between $1000 and $1500, starting with the Lite now $28,490 +ORC. Price increases of up to $1000 are implemented on Vitara.

Toyota’s new price schedule is a tome with ups and downs all over the place. Some models, such as the GR86 and the C-HR remain unchanged, while others benefit from an LCT price cut.

Volkswagen passenger vans, small through to large, increase by up to $2800 with something similar over on the working vans. Two T-Roc models increase, the 110TSI Style by $1890 to $38,990 +ORC and the 140TSI R-Line that moves to $47,090 +ORC.