Biggest, smallest new car discounts revealed for first half of 2019

The brands offering the biggest and smallest new car discounts have been revealed in market intelligence from consumer champion What Car?’s New Car Buying platform. Citroën topped the table, while Dacia offered buyers the lowest price reductions in the first six months of 2019.

Despite their typically higher price tags, analysis of What Car?’s Target Price mystery shopper data also found premium brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo offer some of the biggest discounts for new car buyers.

Together, the 10 brands with the biggest discounts accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the UK’s new car sales, while those with the smallest offerings accounted for just 12.43 per cent.

Citroën retailers have cut prices by an average of 11.75 per cent since the beginning of the year – significantly more than industry average of 7.60 per cent, or £2595. Some individual car models have even been offered with more than 20 per cent off their list price.

Volkswagen offered the second biggest discounts across the first half of the year, with the German brand’s retailers cutting prices by more than 11 per cent on average. Vauxhall dealers offered the third-biggest savings, with popular models such as the Astra discounted by more than £4500 at the end of June.

What Car?’s Target Price discount is negotiated by a team of mystery shoppers and indicates the most buyers should pay for their new car. All retailers selling cars through What Car?’s New Car Buying platform must list them at Target Price or below, ensuring that buyers visiting www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals can get a great deal without any haggling.

The research also found Dacia buyers typically received the lowest discounts, at just 0.96 per cent below the list price. However, Dacia’s cars are among the cheapest in the UK, with the Sandero starting from less than £7000, and the brand still enjoyed significant growth.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “In this turbulent market we cannot stress enough the importance of doing your research when buying your next car. Some brands are offering buyers large savings, while others are using different tactics

“Interestingly, there is a split between premium brands. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, for example, tend to offer big discounts, while Land Rover and Lexus are pursuing a policy of smaller price reductions.”