The Luxembourg Motoring Association (ACL) has seen the number of repatriations from abroad soar by 69% and is suffering from "worrying" inflation, forcing it to increase its membership fees.

The almost 90-year-old motoring association is not immune to inflation, especially in the energy sector. Since the beginning of 2022, the ACL has been "seriously impacted" by the rise in fuel prices (+66% compared to 2021). The indexation of salaries "heavily burdens the budget," while the average cost of foreign member files "has increased by 34% in a year."

The bottom line is that membership fees will increase for the first time in thirteen years in 2023. For coverage in Luxembourg, fees will rise from €49 to €69, and from €89 to €119 per year for European coverage.

Repatriations from abroad are increasing

The first nine months of the year showed that the 190,000 ACL members travelled extensively in Europe this summer. Since the beginning of 2022, the ACL has sold 13,276 vignettes for Austria (+52.7% over one year) and 18,556 vignettes for Switzerland (+8.1%).

More significantly, the ACL reports a substantial increase in repatriations from abroad, particularly from France, Portugal, and Austria. By 2021, almost one thousand repatriations had been carried out. This figure has already risen by 69% since the start of the year.

Overall, since the beginning of the year, "about a quarter of our members have called on our services," i.e., "more than 49,000 services carried out between 1 January and 30 September," the ACL notes.

The most common interventions are for discharged 12V batteries. "Our technicians replace 3,200 12V batteries per year, a figure that is constantly rising. That's more than eight batteries every day," ACL Director Jean-Claude Juchmes explains.

And "high season" is just beginning for the fifty or so ACL breakdown mechanics, mechanics, and drivers.

Not to mention the 40 operators who answer calls in seven languages from the call centre in Bertrange.