List prices of compact MPVs rose at a faster rate than those of any other new car sector during July, up by 3.1% year-on-year compared to a market average rise of 1.7%.

The findings are published by EurotaxGlass’s in the monthly Glass’s New Car Market Trends report.

A number of the compact MPV sector’s best selling vehicles have had list price increases over recent months.

For example, many models in the Ford Focus C-MAX and Renault Scenic ranges increased by £200, and in the Vauxhall Zafira range some prices were up by £400.

The list price of the average compact MPV will also have been affected by the arrival of the new Mazda5, which has a higher starting price than the outgoing Premacy.

However, residual values appear to be heading in the opposite direction, albeit slowly.

EurotaxGlass’s reports that during the second quarter of the year the residual values of the average three-year-old compact MPV fell 4.8%, or £275, compared to 4.1% for the used car market as a whole. The higher rate of depreciation largely reflects the greater numbers of compact MPVs now available in the UK’s used car market, it says.

"Further list prices look likely across many vehicle sectors, largely as a result of continued increases in energy and steel costs," said Alan Cole, editorial consultant for the Glass’s Market Intelligence Service.

"Significantly, we are now seeing the leading steel providers abandon their traditional three-year contracts with carmakers in favour of shorter-term agreements. This will make it much harder for the manufacturers to accurately predict future production costs and, despite weak consumer demand, they may have to respond by introducing higher prices."

Other key sector-by-sector price changes

The list price of the average new supermini fell again last month, down 0.3%, or £27 year-on-year.

List price inflation was again above average in the lower-medium segment, up 2.9%, year-on-year or equivalent to an additional £361.

In the upper-medium sector prices rose by 2.9%, year-on-year, representing an extra £468 on the average car.

List price inflation in the prestige car sectors continues to lag behind that of the market as a whole. In the compact executive class list prices are up only 0.6% and, in the large executive sector they were up only 1.2%, year-on-year.

The biggest list price changes

The single biggest list price increase was for the Honda Civic 2.0i-VTEC Type R, which had a £570 rise to £17,147. The greatest list price fall was on the Seat Toledo 1.9TDI PD Stylance, which had a cut of £1,055 to £14,342.