New car costs slashed by nearly 25% as showrooms get back to business

9th Jun 2020

Car showrooms across England have dramatically lowered their prices in a bid to lure buyers after lockdown.

Costs have been slashed by almost 25% for some models, after dealers opened their doors to the public last Monday for the first time in 10 weeks.

Fans of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate have enjoyed the biggest saving, with a whopping £16,500 off the list price.

Meanwhile, a new Volkswagen Golf SV can be yours with a 24.2% discount, reducing the price tag by as much as £6,752.

Largest discounts by percentage

Rank	Model	Discount	RRP
1	Volkswagen Golf SV	24.2% / £6,752	£22,300 - £30,695
2	Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate	24.2% / £16,544	£40,870 - £100,370
3	Fiat Tipo	23.7% / £3,800	£15,540 - £21,535
4	BMW 4 Series Convertible	23.0% / £12,474	£42,410 - £54,545
5	Volkswagen Passat saloon	22.4% / £7,094	£25,980 - £42,305
6	Seat Leon	22.2% / £6,515	£19,850 - £30,045
7	Mercedes-Benz C-Class saloon	22.0% / £8,736	£29,360 - £79,982
8	Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer	21.6% / £8,821	£26,995 - £35,900
9	Vauxhall Grandland X	19.7% / £9,177	£24,305 - £46,660
10	Volkswagen Touran	19.2% / £6,538	£28,895 - £35,810
11	BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe	18.4% / £15,950	£71,410 - £121,050
12	Volkswagen Arteon	18.4% / £7,123	£33,105 - £44,320

Source: What Car?

Since new car registrations fell so drastically during April and May, these discounts suggest that dealerships are keen to shift an abundance of stock and capitalise on increased demand.

However, a significant lull in manufacturing over the last few months means there’s no certainty about how long discounts will last.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) hopes the move will help sales bounce back after it revealed closed showrooms are costing the Treasury £61 million every day.

May proved a tough month for the industry with new registrations down by a staggering 89%.1

SMMT’s Mike Hawes said: “It has been a black week for UK Automotive with devastating job cuts across retail and manufacturing coming hard on the heels of earlier losses.

“As the sector strives to weather the worst storm in a generation, measures to drive cash flow, stimulate demand and, above all, maintain our competitiveness are essential.”

A possible £1.5 billion scrappage scheme could potentially encourage sales for the struggling industry. The SMMT believes an increased subsidy of £2,500 off the price of a car when motorists scrap their older vehicles could see a further 600,000 new motors hit the road.2

If you’re looking for your next set of wheels, RAC Cars lists over 300,000 new and used options sold from an Approved Dealer network which conducts an 82 point check on every vehicle.

1 https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/

2 https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-8384127/Leaked-letter-reveals-SMMT-government-discussions-scrappage-scheme.html

RAC sale – up to 40% off*

• Standard cover from £5.29 a month*

• We get to most breakdowns in 60 mins or less

• Our patrols fix 4/5 breakdowns on the spot

Buy now

*97% of customers achieve max 40% saving on new Standard and Extra cover for 1 person. Ends 04/11/2025 10am. At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Standard cover.