Which car brand is the cheapest?
What car brand has the cheapest models for sale? We answer this question through the mycarena car search engine, where we have over 12 car brands to compare instantly.
We have already written an article on the top 10 cheapest cars on the online market today, you can read that article by clicking here.
There are a lot of brands in the budget segment, marketing themselves as the cheapest or most affordable vehicle manufacturer. Think about Dacia that is by no doubt selling very cheap cars.
But is cheap, good?
- Cheap doesn't equal good
- Warranty
- Innovation & product excellence
- Our pick
1. Cheap doesn't equal good
Cheap isn't necessarily good. Developing a cheaper car can easily be achieved by brands through use of older material and of lower quality. This strategy is being used by Dacia, the budget company of Renault. The way Dacia manages to develop such cheap cars is through use of older components from old Renault models. Dacia receives old components to develop a new car that passes current time safety and emission tests.
Dacia models are praised because of their amazing price. In terms of quality and sustainability they are okay if maintained very well. The interior for example is easy to be damaged or scratched because of the lower quality. Same goes to the exterior paint that is prone to chipstones and deep swirlmarks.
What is more important is the overall feel and atmosphere you get with a new car. Dacia is cheap in price, but it's well noticealble during the ownership of the car. There are many areas where you will notice lack of quality and luxury. Over time you will have to settle down with the budget cuts on your new car, as you will notice lack of amenities and features that other slightly more expensive cars do have.
Cars being very cheap are with a reason, no manufacturer will sell cheap cars just to please you as a customer. They need to make money from their customers, so the price you pay is what you will get in the real world.
2. Warranty
Warranty given by manufacturers is their confidence in the quality of their product. They are confident that the car being delivered will not face any technical issues, if as long the car is being serviced on the predefined intervals.
In Europe every manufacturer for cars must give 2 years of warranty on the product they are selling. This means that any brand has a minimum warranty of 2 years, but some go beyond that to prove they are building a reliable car.
Interestingly enough, the more expensive brands do not give more than 2 years of warranty as standard. Most luxury brands allow to increase your warranty if you pay extra for it. This defeats the purpose of a warrranty, as you probably just paid the presumable repair cost in advance in return for that extra "warranty".
There are two brands that are well known for giving a high warranty.
KIA and Hyundai, both brands give at least 5 years factory warranty on unlimited mileage. Anything that may go wrong is under warranty.
Both brands are part of the same group called Hyundai Motor Group based in South-Korea. Their strategy to obtain market share in the European continent came mainly through high reliability, quality, price and warranty.
3. Innovation & product excellence
As mentioned before in this article, building a cheap car can easily be achieved using old materials and technology. The manufacturer is only challenged in developing a vehicle that passes safety and emissions tests.
Cheaps cars where you can find implementation of the latest technology and attention to product quality is extremely rare. Dacia is a brand as mentioned where you will not find very advanced technology. Same goes to a Fiat product such as the Panda or 500.
However, some brands do manage to make cheap cars while still delivering innovation and product excellence.
Think about a budget car with Lane Keep Assist and Cruise Control? All for a price of under 16.000 euro? Alongside, an excellent build quality with a high attention towards the overall experience in the ownership of the car. Brands want to sell an experience with the car, a unique taste that you feel every time you look, feel or drive the car. With the latter, many brands struggle to deliver this. Especially German brands sometimes struggle to give their customers the exact experience that their brand stands for.
4. Our pick
Dacia, Hyundai and Skoda are our final contenders of the cheapest brand. We however selected only one winner out of the three contenders.
#3. Dacia is cheap and that's about it
The Dacia brand is without a single doubt the cheapest car brand in Europe. So to answer the main question, yes Dacia is the cheapest car brand but lacks value. Their cars are purposefully designed to be cheap and pass current European manufacturing laws for safety and emission. Due to the lack of emotions, we have positioned this brand third in our top 3. Besides advancement, Dacia does also not offer standard warranty of more than 2 years. Any feature that comes in as standard such as blind spot monitoring has been added to increase the safety test results.
In short, Dacia is cheap but it doesn't bring any advancement to the market.
#2. Skoda is the pinnacle of product excellence in an affordable package
The Skoda brand has grown from a cheap option to your best value for money. Budget brands tend to lack innovation and advancement because it will affect the price of the product. With a Skoda however, you can pay a cheap price yet have the possibility to equip the car with all features you can find in more premium brands. Options such as adaptive cruise control and matrix headlights are all a possibility.
Skoda gives an excellent amount of technology, advancement and overall product excellence in a budget. The way they design products is very thoughtful, you experience a high attention to practicality and a perfect balance of quality. Noticing cheapness in a Skoda is rare, but even if you do find it, the price justifies some lack of luxury.
If you want a car that brings in a lot of value/features/technology in a budget, then there's nothing beyond a Skoda!
1. Hyundai, gives you more for your money
The Hyundai brand isn't a new company, it exists since 1967. But it always faced a challenge to compete with other big players due to its Korean origin. Companies from that country were always the lesser option, everyone preferred either German, American or Japanese. Thanks to the Chaebol, the country has managed to create brands that are innovative and advanced.
Hyundai quickly started to gain traction and marketshare due to their amazing products. Hyundai started innovating and building reliable cars. The combination of innovation and reliability has taken Hyundai to the very next level.
Any new Hyundai product is built with thought towards innovation and product excellence. The vehicle gives an experience to the consumer through innovative designs and advanced technology features. The Hyundai i20 for example gives you cruise control and lane assist for a price under 16.000 euro. Features and price nobody can compete against. In our opinion, the Hyundai i20 is a much better option compared to the Dacia Sandero that goes out for the same price with less features. Apart from the price, you get 5 years of factory warranty with the Hyundai compared to two years with Dacia.
Hyundai gives their customers more for their money. When you own a Hyundai product, you are embraced in the ownership experience. The vehicle gives you more value thanks to a great price, with the option to have a lot of great features for a small extra. On top of that, the brand gives 5 year factory warranty as standard. The highest warranty on the market, no budget brand or even premium brand gives more years warranty as standard.
The brand recently aquired a lot of designers and engineers from German brands such as BMW. Their intelligence helped the brand reform itself into something more sportier and advanced. Hyundai "N" is the performance division of the Korean brand. Similar to what you have with BMW "M" and Mercedes-Benz with "AMG". Thanks to the performance division at Hyundai, they have managed to make very interesting and attractive models to the market. Targeting a broader audience and giving the brand a higher value.
The brand is now also leaping towards fully electrification and aiming to create the most attractive performance electic models with a "soul". Developing an electric car that will attract petrolheads is difficult, but Hyundai believes in succeeding through two new concepts initially. The RN22e and N Vision 74. Two very attractive and high performing electric models.
It's undeniable one of the most successful brands in the last decade and our pick for the cheapest brand.
This article has not been sponsored by Hyundai nor is it a paid promotion. This is our own research and findings.
Last updated on July 27, 2022.