March is make-or-break time for dealers and many businesses relied on strong finance offers to drive customers through their doors during the change to the ‘17’ plate.

Citroën was in need of some of the greatest support as the brand’s new car registrations were down 29.5% after the first two months of this year.

According to the latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey results (see page 16) Citroën was rated the lowest overall by dealers, at 3.8 out of 10.

However, it did not receive the lowest score for its finance offers. While it was rated 5.0 out of 10 (compared with the average of 6.7), Hyundai (4.9), Subaru (4.8) and Jeep (4.8) were all lower.

Citroën had decent offers to help boost registrations in March, including its entry C1 at £129 a month with a deposit under £2,000. In fact, the entire range was available for under the £300 price point with reasonable deposit levels. The French brand also put £1,350 in deposit support behind its C3 Picasso and C4 Picasso.

The lack of clarity around Subaru’s finance offers may be part of the low rating from dealers. The Japanese brand’s UK website did not clearly display any PCP offers in the finance offers section during the busiest time of the year.

It was possible to find some representative examples within each model’s specific website section, but they were not front and centre as they were on many other manufacturer’s websites.

Subaru instead continues to lead with its interest-free credit promotion that has been running since October last year across all variants of the Outback, Forester and XV. Customers pay a 50% deposit, pay nothing for a year and then pay the remaining 50% balance interest-free.

Kia’s finance offers were rated the highest by dealers at 8.8 out of 10. It led with a 37-month 4.9% APR offer across its range in Q1, continuing the same formula from Q4 2016. While the range is affordable, with the majority of models shown here under £300 a month, it does have a higher level of deposit and higher cost per month compared with Citroën’s range. This perhaps hints at what may be  higher level of profit for Kia’s models due to the brand building its reputation for reliability and style.

Mercedes-Benz tied with Kia for the highest-rated consumer offers, at 8.8. This compares with a 6.7 rating for Audi and 7.3 for BMW.

Mercedes has also seen healthy growth in new car registrations so far this year, up 12.6% YTD.

Despite its status as a premium German brand, it too hits below or close to the £300-a-month mark for entry-level models such as the A-Class and B-Class.

However, rival offers from Audi and BMW show Mercedes is the most expensive of the three. While the A3 and 1 Series both cost £249 a month, the A-Class comes in at £299. The A4 and 3 series come in at £319 and £299 respectively, while the C-Class comes in at £355, again suggesting that Mercedes is under less pressure to compete on volume, but can continue to successfully grow its share of the market for its network.

Model Finance type Deposit Term Monthly payment Final payment APR Offer ends
Citroën              
C1 VTi 68 manual 3dr Feel PCP £1,884.43 36 months £129 £4,251 4.90% 31/03/2017
New C3 PureTech 82 manual Feel PCP £2,318.66 36 months £189 £5,807 4.90% 31/03/2017
C3 Picasso BlueHDi 100 manual Edition PCP £1,833.71 48 months £249 £3,936 4.90% 31/03/2017
C4 Cactus PureTech 82 manual Feel PCP £2,107.13 36 months £179 £5,397 4.90% 31/03/2017
C4 PureTech 110 6-speed manual Feel PCP £2,485.37 48 months £269 £4,000 4.90% 31/03/2017
New C4 Picasso BlueHDi 120 S&S 6-speed manual Feel PCP £3,815.57 48 months £289 £6,427 4.90% 31/03/2017
Subaru              
Outback 2.0i SE Premium Lineartronic PCP £7,270 49 months £399 £12,669 6.90% 31/03/2017
Forester 50/50 £13,090 12 months N/A £13,090 0.00% 31/03/2017
XV 50/50 £11,090 12 months N/A £11,090 0.00% 31/03/2017
Levorg 1.6 GT-S CVT PCP £7,233 49 months £349 £10,222.50 6.90% 31/03/2017
Impreza 1.6i-S 6MT PCP £4,294 49 months £249 £5,496.25 6.90% 31/03/2017
BRZ 2.0i SE Lux 6AT PCP £8,093.75 49 months £299 £9,225 6.90% 31/03/2017
WRX STi 2.5 UK Type 6MT PCP £3,920 49 months £399 £13,785 6.90% 31/03/2017
Kia              
Picanto 1.0 '1 Air' Manual 5dr PCP £2,150.00 37 months £124.90 £2,740.50 4.90% 31/03/2017
cee'd GT Line 1.6 CRDi 6-speed manual 5dr PCP £5,200.00 37 months £325.19 £7,215.80 4.90% 31/03/2017
Rio 1.1 CRDI 'SE' Manual ISG 5dr PCP £3,550.00 37 months £201.03 £3,550.00 4.90% 31/03/2017
Carens '2' 1.6 GDi Manual ISG PCP £4,550.00 37 months £285.20 £6,141.85 4.90% 31/03/2017
Sorento 'KX-1' 2.2 CRDi 194bhp 6-speed manual 7-seat UM PCP £6,650.00 37 months £322.09 £12,012.38 4.90% 31/03/2017
Sportage '2' 1.7 CRDi manual ISG 5dr PCP £5,050.00 37 months £206.92 £10,516.80 4.90% 31/03/2017
All- New Niro '2' PCP £5,150.00 37 months £208.41 £11,206.50 4.90% 31/03/2017
Mercedes              
A 180 AMG Line PCP £3,887.96 36 months £299 £10,975 5.10% 31/03/2017
B 180 d SE PCP £1,925.88 36 months £309 £9,600 5.10% 31/03/2017
B 250 e Sport PCP £2,999 36 months £299 £10,250 5.80% 31/03/2017
C 200 d AMG Line PCP £4,999 36 months £355 £13,875 5.10% 31/03/2017
C 220 d AMG Line Estate PCP £5,755.48 36 months £359 £15,350 5.10% 31/03/2017
E 220 d AMG Line PCP £5,999 36 months £385 £18,850 5.10% 31/03/2017
CLA 180 AMG Line Shooting Brake PCP £3,999 36 months £349 £14,255 5.10% 31/03/2017

 

 

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