Kwik-Fit says cost of tyres has declined

Edinburgh, UK - UK-based tyre retailer Kwik-Fit reports that it has dropped the average price of tyres in its centres by 15 percent since 1997. This compares with an inflationary increase of around 32 percent in average consumer prices and a whopping 52 percent in the cost of vehicle ownership in the same period.

The company said it made this estimate based on an analysis of the prices of 30 of the most popular tyres sizes sold at Kwik-Fit since 1997.

Thew company says average vehicle maintenance costs have soared by 64.8 percent. That's more than double the 32 percent rise in the rate of overall inflation during this time period. Tax and insurance costs have escalated by 50.2 percent, followed by petrol and oil costs which have risen by 48.4 percent.

Meanwhile the cost of purchasing motor vehicles has fallen by 26.1 percent over the past ten years, off-setting the increase in maintenance costs.

David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit, said, “It's a core part of our strategy past, present and future that our customers receive inflated tyres at deflated prices in comparison to inflation. Nowadays, of course, Kwik-Fit is about more than just tyres as we're bringing our quality, value and convenience values into more and more areas of motoring, such as MoTs and servicing.”