Mitsubishi and Volvo are the latest vehicle manufacturers to announce aftersales promotions to encourage customers into new cars and into their franchised workshops.

The Mitsubishi Service Plan (MSP) is a discount service package offered to all customers buying a new car from this month.

And Volvo Car UK has taken action to cut ownership costs on its 2008 model year ranges by lowering prices on a basket of parts and reducing service times.

Mitsubishi hopes MSP will boost customer retention and ensure regular business for its dealer network. The scheme, available for all models except Lancer Evolution IX, guarantees savings of 65%-75% over the car’s first three scheduled services, covering up to three years or 37,500 miles. It covers labour and service parts, with customers having to pay for any additional work or components required. Dealers will be encouraged to use the opportunity to sell additional services.

The package will be offered to private, fleet and business customers, and costs £100 for the Mitsubishi, £150 for Colt and Lancer, £200 for Grandis and Outlander, £250 for Shogun and Shogun Sport and £293 for L200.

Mitsubishi believes there will be strong take-up of MSP at point of purchase, but buyers can opt into the scheme within 30 days of the vehicle being registered.

Lance Bradley, director of sales and marketing, expects it to benefit residual values and help build long-term relationships between dealers and customers. “We anticipate a very high take-up for the service plans, as there’s no doubt it will save customers money,” he said.

Volvo’s measures are targeted at the fleet sector, to drive growth in contract hire and PCP business, and apply on new vehicles sold from July 16. The carmaker says key models such as S40 and V50 will benefit from average labour savings of up to 35% on a three-year, 60,000- mile schedule, and a 15% reduction in parts costs.

Volvo is also marketing to company car drivers with a range of no-cost specification upgrades on 2008 model year cars.