Offers on new large SUVs have rocketed in the last quarter (June-August), with savvy buyers netting an average of almost £3000 off list price, according to the What Car? Target Price Report.
Analysis by mystery shoppers across 7500 new cars on sale today found achievable discounts on large SUVs of up to 25% over the last three months.
Despite savings on large SUVs increasing by 5.95%, discounts on small cars, family cars and executive cars had declined.
What Car? Target Price calculates the fair price consumers should pay when choosing their next car. The data is central to the all-new whatcar.com – a purpose built e-commerce platform connecting 20 million potential car buyers to a network of car retailers across the UK.
The second quarterly Target Price report, which runs from June to August, reveals overall discounts have remained static at 8.18% – equal to £2550 off list price – despite new car sales falling by 4.2% in 2018 with 1,571,986 sold so far[1].
August proved to be a bumper month for discounts, though, with savings spiking by 2.3% compared with the last quarter. What Car? Target Price mystery shoppers found almost 1500 models available with savings between 10% and 30% off list price during the month.
The strong August, where 94,094 new cars were registered in the UK[1], was helped by the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Dealers were under pressure to shift stock ahead of the law changes and slashed prices.
Steve Huntingford, Editor of What Car?, said: “Although overall discounts have remained static over the last quarter, savvy buyers have still been able to score a bargain using our Target Price data, especially during August, which we had predicted would be a bumper month for deals.
“It’s interesting to see dealers finally start to offer bigger discounts on large SUVs because traditionally these have been some of the hardest cars to negotiate on. However, large SUVs tend to be diesels and the negative publicity and threat of future diesel taxes could well have played a part. The fact that there are so many models for people to choose from now has probably also played a part.
“We will wait to see if this trend continues with the introduction of the 68-plate registrations in September.
“Buyers should continue to check our regularly updated Target Price guide to see when is best to sign on the dotted line.â€
Buyers can secure these discounts using the all-new whatcar.com, which features the best deals based on the car they want and their geographical location, saving them time, money and the hassle of haggling.
Q2 (June to August): Top 10/Bottom 10 manufacturer discounts
| OEM (top 10) | Av cash discount | |
| 1 | Seat | 11.93% |
| 2 | Renault | 11.74% |
| 3 | Volkswagen | 11.52% |
| 4 | Citroën | 11.40% |
| 5 | Smart | 11.13% |
| 6 | DS | 10.36% |
| 7 | Vauxhall | 10.20% |
| 8 | Peugeot | 9.84% |
| 9 | Ford | 9.79% |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 8.70% |
| OEM (bottom 10) | Av cash discount | |
| 1 | Porsche | 0.00% |
| 2 | Dacia | 0.98% |
| 3 | Ssangyong | 2.08% |
| 4 | MG | 2.79% |
| 5 | Infiniti | 3.01% |
| 6 | Mazda | 3.95% |
| 7 | Subaru | 4.17% |
| 8 | Land Rover | 4.33% |
| 9 | Jeep | 4.54% |
| 10 | Lexus | 5.22% |
Top 10 model discounts (August 2018)
| Model | Spec | OTR Price | TP Price | Discount | |
| 1 | Fiat Tipo | 1.4 Easy | £14,320 | £10,515 | 26.57% |
| 2 | Volkswagen Passat | 1.4 TSI S | £22,195 | £17,019 | 23.32% |
| 3 | Vauxhall Astra | 1.0T Ecotec SRi | £21,210 | £16,385 | 22.75% |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz SL | SL 400 AMG Line 9G-Tronic | £77,395 | £60,314 | 22.07% |
| 5 | Seat Toledo | 1.0 TSI 110 SE | £17,330 | £13,516 | 22.01% |
| 6 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 2.2 DI-D 2 | £25,920 | £20,223 | 21.98% |
| 7 | Peugeot 508 | 2.0 BlueHDi 180 GT auto | £35,170 | £27,635 | 21.42% |
| 8 | Vauxhall Mokka X | 1.4T Ecotec Active | £22,035 | £17,396 | 21.05% |
| 9 | Citroën C4 Spacetourer | 2.0 Blue HDi 160 Flair EAT8 | £30,285 | £24,562 | 18.90% |
| 10 | Volkswagen Golf SV | 1.5 TSI 150 GT Evo DSG | £27,870 | £22,731 | 18.44% |
