Renault became the first car company to fall victim to the new Australian Competition and Consumer Commission legislation that bans manufacturers from using recommended retail pricing (more here). The French firm introduced its expanded Laguna range this week but was unable to provide the media with a price.
Instead of a single RRP Renault was only able to provide the media with a list of pricing that takes into account the various state charges for Stamp Duty, registration, Compulsory Third Party insurance (CTP) and dealer delivery. That means each car requires a different price in each state and results in a price list for eight variants of the Laguna Hatch and Estate which fills an A3 page.
For example the diesel-powered manual Laguna hatch in Expression trim has a RRP from Renault of $37,990 but because of the new legislation the car has a different price in each state -- $42,108 (SA), $42,313 (WA), $42,826 (QLD), $42,965 (NSW) and $41,660 (VIC).
The changes come as a particular blow for Renault as the new Laguna's pricing has been reduced across the range between $1500 and $4000, but company executives are unable to express this clearly.
The only thing that is clear is that Renault may be the first victim but it won't be the last.
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