New car buyers are being advised to move quickly if they want a discount on their next vehicle as the backlog of demand is expected to outstrip supply following the Covid-19 crisis.
According to data analysis by What Car?, manufacturers are expected to react to a fresh wave of vehicle purchases by reducing the number of offers and discounts available on new cars.
It follows on from the Government giving the green light for dealers to resume selling vehicles online and making deliveries.
Although manufacturers are now gradually beginning to restart production, much of the supply of new vehicles will rely on existing stocks.
Pat Hoy, of What Car?, said: “While the market is frozen, dealers that remained open have been nurturing leads, making it harder to get a clear indication of what their plans are for when business opens up again.
“But the clear expectation is that, as soon as demand outstrips supply, they will look to reduce incentives and discounts and focus on profitability.
“Of course, there will be variables within that. Some manufacturers will sacrifice profit for market share but the likelihood is that most buyers will face the double whammy of discounts narrowing and waiting lists extending as soon as the market opens up.”
What Car? analysis of discounts found that in the first three months of 2020, Citroen was offering the best deals with an average of 16% off the price of a new car available.
This was followed by Nissan, Skoda and Mercedes with discounts of 14%, 12% and 11% respectively.
