The amendments adopted by the Government to the CSDD price list include changes to services such as driving exams, charging of electric vehicles on the CSDD network, registration of electrical scooters, and others. For example, the price of a driving exam will rise by €5, approaching €30.
The Directorate's spokesman, Mārtiņš Mālmeisters, said that the changes had been introduced because they had not taken place for a long time, as well as because of inflation: "The prices had not been reviewed since 2013. Some positions were changed in 2015 and also in 2018. In fact, prices for CSDD services were no longer in line with the current market situation. Prices have been changed upward for those services where the biggest need is a qualified and certified human resource that provides, for example, proficiency examinations, registration issues, and number comparison issues."
More importantly, the price will grow for the charging of electric vehicles on the CSDD network.
“Until last week to charge an electric vehicle on the “eMobi” network, there was a fixed charge that hasn't been changed since 2018. But electricity prices have risen nearly ten times over the past four years. Consequently, in future, the price will be reviewed once a month and is linked to the stock exchange price,” noted Mālmeisters.
The charge for selection number plates has climbed from €150 to €300 due to high demand.
Given the uncertainty of spending, the car market has also slowed down.
The president of the Latvian Association of Used Car Traders, Uģis Vītols, said that prices for second-hand vehicles have not changed much so far, but it is noted that vehicles with more mileage are being imported from other European countries at the same prices.
Auto Association expert Krišs Lipšāns said that the used car market experienced a nearly 10% drop over the past year. People are buying more new cars.
“This is due to the electric car. If we look at electric cars in the nine months this year, the number [..] increased by 143% [compared to last year],” said Lipšāns.
Until this year before aid became available, 80% of all electric vehicles were purchased by legal entities, but now private individuals are buying nearly half of the cars.
He said: “If we are talking about vehicle prices, they have already been increased in some places in principle. Some traders have already raised prices slightly, but a 6% to 8% increase in costs of new light vehicles could also be seen in the near term. This is, of course, all based on all the conditions seen elsewhere in Europe and Latvia – electricity prices, fuel prices, transport and logistics costs. Therefore, an increase in purchase costs for new cars is expected.”
