By Paul-Henri Matha
The SRA (Sécurité et Réparation Automobiles) is a French association of car insurance companies. Created in 1977, it aims to help limit the cost of car claims for policyholders. The SRA have a database of French vehicles available to members—cars, yes, and also two-wheelers and all motor vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes.
Each time one of these vehicles is manufactured or imported in France, it is assigned an SRA identification code, specific to each vehicle model. It appears on their registration document. This ranking takes into account:
- The risk associated with the vehicle, based on its components
- A replacement price index
- An index of the vehicle’s vulnerability to impact, as well as its repairability
- A clue to its anti-theft protection
Insurers can use these indicators as inputs when determining the cost of a policy covering that vehicle. In November 2023, SRA made a comparison of prices of exterior lighting systems. All prices are based on information from Sidexa Qapter© database registered as of 15 March 2024.
The lighting kit (front and rear lamps; parts only, without labour costs) varies from around €2,000 (Dacia Duster) to €14,000 (Hyundai Kona); on the Kona, lamps represent 40 per cent of the vehicle selling price—driven in substantial part by the 2-metre-wide front light strip, which costs more than €9,200. That might be an outlier, but for many models sold in France, the lighting kit price costs between €3,500 and €5,500—lower, but still considered expensive by the insurance companies and vehicle owners. This goes for most all brands; here are some examples (“TTC” seen at the bottom of each box here is french for ‘all taxes included’).
Get more information about this study on DVN website.
We find similar articles in China, where some car owners think lamp replacement prices are too expensive. As an example, a Porsche Cayenne microLED headlamp for C¥27,900 (€3,557) or an Aito M9 Xpixel lamp for C¥30,000 (€3,825).
