AM has teamed up with What Car? Connect, the data marketing and insight service, to produce a monthly look at used car sales and target price data.

Each month, we’ll feature a Connect report on one sector of the market, prepared exclusively for AM.

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

The third in our series of analysis examines the SUV market.

The report looks at a sector that ranks third overall in the 'target price' table.

SUVs: Below average 'target price' discounts

In a market where the average What Car? 'target price' discount is 10.0%, SUVs are typically offered with a lower average discount of 7.9% (£2,352) per car. That places the SUV segment third in the 'target price' table behind city cars and performance cars and hot hatches.

Despite a wide variety of SUVS with prices from £9,000 to £100,000, the desirability of these vehicles has seen target price discounts rise by only 2% over the past six months compared to 9% for the total market.

Volvo’s XC70 has the highest average 'target price' saving at 20.9% (£7,568) per car and is one of 13 SUVs where double-digit discount percentages are typically available. The five largest Target Price discounts are as follows:

Volvo XC70  20.9% / £7,568
Volvo XC90  19.7% / £8,163
Suzuki SX4  17.3% / £2,375
Volvo XC60  14.1% / £4,925
Nissan X-Trail  14% / £4,017

The best finance-based incentive today is on the Vauxhall Mokka, a modest cash discount compensated for by five year’s interest-free hire purchase. However, the Mokka has seen the biggest month-on-month increase in its average 'target price' discount of 1.75%.

Other incentive highlights include factory bonuses of up to £10,000 per car on BMW X6s, up to £5,400 per car on Volvo SUVs, a £6,000 per car finance deposit allowance on Audi PCP-purchased Audi Q7s and three year’s 0% hire purchase on Nissan Jukes bought with a 50% deposit.

But many dealers fight hard to avoid discounting SUVs, citing good demand and restricted supply.

Three of the most discount-resistant models are the Range Rover Evoque (5.75%) Ford Ecosport (3.0%) and Mercedes GLA (1.0%).

The large number of very desirable SUVs should ensure that 'target price' discounts remain below average for some time.

> What Car? Connect