Car Prices Have Nowhere to Go But Up. Blame Climate Change

Carmaker flags ‘significant’ car price rises in medium-term
Volkswagen joins BMW in warning of tough times in 2019

New Volkswagen cars at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg.Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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By Christoph Rauwald

January 11, 2019 at 10:51 AM UTC

Updated on

January 11, 2019 at 2:12 PM UTC

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Volkswagen AG said higher material costs to comply with carbon emissions regulation will significantly boost the price of its cars in the medium-term, as the manufacturer joined fellow German rival BMW AG warning of challenges in the year ahead.

Cheaper cars will proportionately see the biggest price rises, Volkswagen said Friday, with increasing safety requirements an additional boost to costs.