VW North America

[rudiger]

can some one please explain why VW's are so cheap in NA, eg, a 3 door MK6 gti is equivalent to $25685 AUS

[Vahnn]

Its not only VW. Automobile prices in the US are generally cheaper than in Australia.

[Umai Naa!!]

Blame the Government first, then Volkswagen Australia.

[ffforever]

The european cars are especially expensive, look at an M3 in north america compared to Australia.... it's half price.

I suppose it's multifactorial, government taxes plays a part, oz cars have to share the engineering costs with uk/japan for the right hand drive conversion, the relatively small market so the car makes mark up profit for each car plus freight costs.....

One can't help but feel being ripped off here in australia though....

[ricksterrr]

Yup the yanks can purchase cars for much lower prices than most around the world but actually we don't have it too bad here in Aus.

Feel sorry for the folks in Singapore...

a Mk6 Golf GTI sets you back AUD $100k over there

[pologti18t]

Convert the price of a GTI in the UK (which has less standard equipment than ours) to Oz dollars. 24900UKP for a 5 door /6speed (with similar options) = approx AUD45400

BTW, how is the government responsible for supposed high prices of cars in Australia?

[Vahnn]

Because the government imposes tariffs and other forms of tax. Where do you think the GST (and LCT especially for cars) come from?

[Lima]

For the price I paid for my S3 I could have bought an M3 in the States, haha.

Best thing to do is just not look at their pricing.

[Maverick]

BTW, how is the government responsible for supposed high prices of cars in Australia?

You're kidding right?

For a start in Australia we have specific requirements that are unwarranted when we could piggyback on EU standards for example child seats by using the ISOFIX system. All of these little requirements cost to develop which adds to the cost of the car.

Sales Volumes

Sales of new cars would increase if cars were cheaper, the average car age in Australia is 9.8 years. Increasing sales would further lower the price of cars through volume.

Stamp duties (I still cannot fathom the requirement especially for homes).

$45,000 car will have the following tax applied (it's not a stamp duty but a tax on a tax on a tax). This tax is on top of GST and import duties so a tax on a tax on a tax.

VIC $1125
NSW $1350
QLD $1575
SA $1740
WA $2925
ACT $1350
TAS $1800
NT $1350

GST

Adds 10% to the retail price. This is a tax on a tax (tax on import duty)

Luxury Car Tax (another tax on a tax on a tax)

33% of the cars value over the LCT threshold of $57180 (the value is GST inclusive so it's a tax on stamp duty, on GST and on import duty amongst others so a tax on a tax on a tax on a tax).

Import Duties

Current 10%.

Other import costs

AQIS charges and other clearance costs.

Cost of doing business in Australia

Business is heavily taxed in Australia, payroll tax, company tax, stamp duties and more all add up.

Registration and CTP Insurance

[ffforever]

Well the government here is pretty good at inventing taxes, taking a leaf out of the British government. As if that is not quite enough.... they hit you again with the speed cameras...

[Psyk]

I think it's genuinely hard to compare...

You'd need to look at standard of living costs such as taxes (income and GST/sales tax), comparable salaries, cost of education, housing costs and health-care? Just because you can get a car cheap over there means you pay elsewhere... What about the running costs, are they similar? Car insurance, petrol, 3rd party insurance, servicing etc?

It's about the TOTAL cost of running the vehicle vs. what you have available to pay for it from your income...

Lastly, I would imagine it's also about the volume of cars they can sell over there. They probably sell more VW's in a month than we do in a year and there's a lot more competition...

[Maverick]

Lastly, I would imagine it's also about the volume of cars they can sell over there. They probably sell more VW's in a month than we do in a year and there's a lot more competition...

Texas sells more cars than Australia in a year. Gives you an idea of the volumes they do.

But a fair part of the difference in price is that their taxes are a lot lower. There's far too many taxes in this country at too many different levels.

[rudiger]

stupid taxes, we could sell alot more cars if they where priced as in america

[pologti18t]

You're kidding right?

For a start in Australia we have specific requirements that are unwarranted when we could piggyback on EU standards for example child seats by using the ISOFIX system. All of these little requirements cost to develop which adds to the cost of the car.

You do realise that the USA (and canada) have specific safety and emission standards that aren't aligned to european standards. From bumper standards to additional side marker lights and reflectors. In fact emission standards differ between states in the USA!

Australia has harmonized most of its design standards with the EU. It's one reason that new euro models hit our shore so early after release.

Taxes in the USA are normally applied at the state level. Essentially a "gst". They also get hit with dealer delivery just like us (destination charges) and registration. In general car insurance is more expensive in the USA as well.

[Corey_R]

You do realise that the USA (and canada) have specific safety and emission standards that aren't aligned to european standards. From bumper standards to additional side marker lights and reflectors. In fact emission standards differ between states in the USA!

Yes, but Australia has a 'habit' of coming up with their own standards when existing ones are elsewhere. The thing is, Australia has the population of New York. Yet we come up with our own standards which often require electronics and car manufacturers to create products specifically for Australia. Which is why we sometimes just get left off a release schedule for a product because it's just not worth it for the manufacturers.