Car manufacturers are expected to reduce new car prices in a bit to increase post-scrappage sales, according to Glass’s, which is the UK’s leading provider of used car valuations.

As the scrappage scheme comes to an end, manufacturers are keen to counteract a predicted fall in new car registrations.

Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at Glass’s, said the price realignment is most likely to affect company car buyers.

He said that carmakers are expecting market demand to move from retail to fleet and business users in 2010, partly because of the scrappage scheme ending but also because many business users deferred buying new fleets last year due to the recession.

Manufacturers are already beginning to launch new entry-level ranges, such as the ES and Expression models from Vauxhall, which undercut the list price of other cars in the brand’s range.

Mr Rushmore said that the low-cost models were unlikely to be popular because of their reduced specification list.

However, he said that manufacturers could emphasis the low costs of ownership as well as lower company tax bands, to promote the ranges.

Please share your thoughts

You must be logged in to post a comment.