A surge in demand for new cars means that the days of handing out big discounts are numbered, according to What Car?.
Car manufacturers have been known to offer discounts of up to 20% or more, but new car sales hitting a 10-year high in 2014 has resulted in car makers and dealers slashing the savings on offer to customers.
What Car?’s data shows that the average discount achievable at the end of February was 9.4%, compared with 10.3% six months ago.
What Car? editor Jim Holder said: “We have always encouraged buyers to haggle to get a good deal, but buyers should be aware that it’s going to become much harder to come away with a substantial discount in the coming months.
“There are still some sectors, such as executive and luxury cars, where a good deal can be negotiated, but the signs from some of the most popular segments of the market show that manufacturers are starting to stand firmer on their prices.
“We’ll undoubtedly see customers weaned off generous buyer incentives as dealers become emboldened by continued strong demand.”
The largest reductions are negotiable on executive, luxury and open top models, which have actually seen month-on-month average discounts increase by 0.7%.
Volvo is the UK’s biggest discounter, offering an average of 14.7% off its models, followed by Renault (13.6%) and BMW (13.2%).
Peter - 11/03/2015 15:32
Absolute nonsense ....apart from a handful the majority of manufacturers would see a dramatic reduction in market share if both they and their dealers altered their sales strategy .