A new awards programme from AM sister brand Parkers could prove a sales boost for dealers.

The Parkers New Car Awards are described as unique as they are based entirely on the total cost of buying a car: depreciation, services and repairs, road tax costs, any loan the buyer may have taken out, the price of insurance and even breakdown cover.

Figures are taken from the new Parkers ‘cost of motoring’ tool in order to single out the winners.

Winning manufacturers and dealers are being encouraged to use the success as a sales tool.

Every dealership representing a winning franchise has been sent a letter informing them their brand has won a category and promoting an award microsite (www.parkersnewcarawards.co.uk) where they can download logos and press releases for use in local marketing campaigns.

Parkers’ editor Kieren Puffet said: “In the current cost-sensitive market these awards deliberately focus on value and gives dealers new opportunities to not only promote the winning cars, but also show consumers how the cost of buying a new car is not just about the windscreen price, but the whole cost of buying and owning a new car.

"Sometimes the best value cars are not the ones with the cheapest purchase price.”

Each of the categories, apart from the Eco Cars category, features multiple winners at differing price points.

The overall winner is the Kia Cee’d 1.4 VR-7. It’s total cost per month is £335.42.

Puffet said: “Our figures show it's cheap to run - but what they don't tell you is that it's engaging to drive and nicely styled. In 2009 it received minor exterior and interior tweaks as well as Kia's ‘EcoDynamics' fuel-saving technologies to make it more efficient than ever.

Only the cars that are currently on sale were considered for the awards and all cost calculations were based on buying and owning a new car over three years and covering 10,000 miles per year - the typical scenario for an average new car buyer.

It includes depreciation, showroom and first registration fee, service and repair costs, road tax, fuel and breakdown cover.

> Full details of all the winners in the March issue of AM.