Monday, 10 February 2020

•Exclusive research by What Car? reveals the brands offering the biggest new car discounts ahead of 20-plate change
•Citroën dealers discounting new models by 16.44% on average, helping buyers save more than £4400 on a new car
•All these discounts are available through www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals
•Average new car discount ahead of March plate change is 8.99% or £3199 – a 21.82% year-on-year growth
•Dacia found to offer smallest savings, according to analysis
•SUVs among the segments with the highest-discounted vehicles
•Watch a video overviewing all new savings here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEtYqPhSIHE&feature=youtu.be

Britain’s biggest new car discounters have been revealed ahead of the introduction of the new ‘20’ registration plate on 1 March, with Citroën dealers offering the biggest cash discounts on average, but with the Fiat Tipo attracting the biggest individual percentage discount, with close to 30% available off its RRP.

Exclusive research by Britain’s leading consumer champion and new car buying platform What Car? – which guarantees shoppers on its website at least these savings – found Citroën dealers are slashing prices by an average of 16.44%, meaning buyers save an average of £4431 on a new Citroën*.

The research also revealed that many manufacturers have significantly increased new car discounts ahead of this year’s March plate change. The average new car discount this year is 21.82% – or £840 – greater than during the same period last year**.

Shoppers using What Car?’s new car buying platform will save on average 8.99% when buying their car ahead of the March plate change, with new models discounted by an average of £3199*. The biggest discount saving on offer is for the ageing Fiat Tipo family hatchback, which is available with up to 28.66% off its list price.

According to What Car?’s Target Price mystery shopper data, nine brands in the UK are offering new car buyers more than 10% off the list price ahead of the plate change*. These include premium manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and one of Britain’s most popular brands, Volkswagen.

Some of Britain’s most popular vehicle segments, including SUVs, feature among the biggest-discounted models. The Nissan Qashqai family SUV in N-Connecta trim, for example, is offered with more than 21% off the list price by dealers*. Across all models, Seat and Nissan retailers were found to offer the second and third best savings, with discounts of 15.56% and 14.11% on new models respectively*.

Plate change months of March and September typically see the highest registration figures for the year. Last March, more than 458,000 new cars were registered in the UK, compared with just 81,959 in February 2019***.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “The months leading up to March often see buyers doing their homework before signing on the dotted line. Our latest Target Price research shows new car buyers can save on average 8.99% when they buy through What Car? New Car Buying. What’s encouraging is that some of the most popular models on the road are being offered with very high discounts, exceeding 20% in some cases.

“Our research also suggests manufacturers are responding to the general dip in sales, with discounts this year nearly 22% higher than last year. That makes it a great time to shop for a new car.”

Dacia, known for its value focused vehicles, was found to offer the lowest discounts of the 34 brands sampled, at just 0.93%. That equates to an average saving of just £117 per car*.

To find your next car, visit: www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals

ENDS

*Average discounts based on January 2020 data
**Average new car discount at the end of January 2020 was 8.99% and £3199. Average new car discount at the end of January 2019 was 7.38% and £2359
*** March and February registrations, based on data from the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – www.smmt.co.uk
****All OTR prices and Target Prices correct at time of writing

About What Car?

What Car? is the UK’s leading consumer champion and new car buying platform, reaching car buyers through its magazine, website, video and social media channels. It has been helping Britain’s car buyers to make purchasing decisions for more than 45 years and its reviews are widely regarded as the most comprehensive source of new car advice.

Whatcar.com offers verdicts and data on every new car, and has won numerous awards and accolades. It attracts 2.2m unique users and more than 12m page impressions every month.

In recent years What Car? has invested heavily in its digital infrastructure with the development of its new ecommerce platform, allowing users to act on the trusted advice What Car? offers by chatting online to car dealers through the website. Users are guaranteed to be able to buy their chosen car at What Car?’s Target Price discount, which is established by mystery shoppers and updated daily.

What Car? has more than 5.5 million monthly points of contact with its audience on the move, at work, at home and at the crucial point of sale. It is the top performing monthly on the UK newsstand in the motoring category.

About Target Price

Target Price is unique to What Car? and set using intelligence gathered by a team of mystery shoppers, who negotiate daily to find the best new car deals available across the UK. The published deals are then guaranteed – and often beaten – by retailers selling cars through whatcar.com.

Target Price is based on a cash deal and does not include elements like finance incentives or trade-in considerations. However, What Car? has also introduced Target PCP finance deals, which show what buyers should expect to pay per month for their new car.

The deals are based on a cash deal and do not include elements like finance incentives or trade in considerations. The deals change on a weekly basis.

For further media information please contact Performance Communications:
Natasha Perry or Sam Wilkinson at Performance Communications on 0208 541 3434.
natasha@performancecomms.com
sam@performancecomms.com