The amount of money consumers are being told they can expect to get knocked off the price of a new car has increased 5% year-on-year.

Each month consumer magazine What Car? produces what it calls its 'target price' analysis based on the deals it says buyers can make in the showroom.

Car makers such as BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Volkswagen have all had sales bonuses in excess of £5,000 per car available on selected models, while customers choosing various Vauxhall and Skoda variants have been able to buy using a five-year interest free hire purchase deal and a 42-month, 0% APR PCP respectively," Andrew Golby, brand director of What Car? and founding director of What Car? Connect, said.

"There has been a 5% year-on-year increase in the all-sector average target price saving per car, up from £2,189 to £2,297.

"From the customer’s perspective, certain car sectors have performed better than others. The average target price discount on executive cars is now 2.3% higher than 12 months ago, while coupé models and estate cars are up 2% and 1% respectively," a What Car? spokesman said.

The average increase in typical showroom savings has been a more modest 0.6% across the city car, SUV, roadsters and cabriolet sectors, where manufacturers have created, and sustained, high demand for sought after models such as the Volkswagen Up, Audi Q3 and Mini Cooper Convertible.

"If the current consumer confidence grows this year, we expect to see car makers becoming more selective with their incentive targeting. This could make it more difficult for car buyers to secure significant discounts on the more popular models."

Top 10 'target price' models

1. Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 Limited: 27.8%

2. Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 86 SE estate: 25%

3. Chevrolet Captiva: 24%
Captiva 2.2 VCD i 184 LT seven-seat AWD models get a £6500 discount.

4. Volvo XC70 2.0 D4 SE S/S: 22.3%

5. Seat Ibiza 1.4 85 Toca 3dr: 21.3%

6. Vauxhall Zafira models: 21%

7. Citroen C5 1.6 HDI 115 VTR +:20.3%

8. Volvo V70 2.4 D5 SE Lux S/S: 19.8%

9. Volvo S60 models: 18.3%
A £4200-per-car Volvo bonus is available on S60s (excluding Business Edition).

10. Citroen C4 1.6 e-HDi 115 Airdream EGS 6 VTR +: 18%
Salespeople can use a £2750-per-car saving and some of their standard trading margin to help shift these C4s.

Bottom 10 'target price' models

1. Skoda Citigo 1.0 60 Sport models: -3%
Salespeople are trying to focus attention towards finance-based incentives instead.

2. Citroen DS3 hatchback models: -2.5%
The DS 3's resurgence in popularity is the reason for resistance to discounting.

3. Peugeot 3008 models: -2.5%
A reduction in factory cash support for older Peugeot 3008 variants has resulted in a 2.5% dip in 'target price' discounts.

4. Seat Leon ST models: -1.5%
Reduced discounts as salespeople appear more confident in defending profit margins.

5. Renault Captur models: -1.5%
Increased dealer resistance to offering discounts on Captur models.

6. Citroen DS5 models: -1.5%
Good 'target price' savings are still available on DS 5 variants, but increased dealer resistance to discounting.

7. Citroen DS4 models: -1.3%
Salespeople are blaming a lack of factory cash support and healthy customer demand as the reasons for reducing typically available 'target price' discounts on C4 versions.

8. Volkswagen Up 1.0 60 models: -1.3%
Increasing customer demand and a small trading margin are the reasons cited by salespeople for restricting discounts on certain VW Up models.

9. Peugeot 5008 models: -1.5%
Salespeople have reduced the amount of dealer discount they are prepared to add to the £499-per-car Peugeot saving on 5008 variants.

10. Fiat Panda 1.2 petrol models: -1%