Car manufacturers are attempting generate a bright start to the new year with a range of offers to tempt consumers.

While many brands have already publicised the extension of scrappage scheme to the end of Q1, a wider range of incentives have been launched to tempt the full array of retail customer, according to online marketplace carwow.

Among the January incentives are:

•             Volkswagen - extra £500 deposit contribution until the end of January

•             Seat- offering an extra £1,000 saving across its range until January 20

•             Kia - offering three years free servicing on SUVs throughout January

•             Nissan - cared4 used car sale running this month

•             Vauxhall – 20% off selected stock vehicles until 15 January

•             Renault - dealers nationwide running a stock clearance sale from 15 to 22 of January with additional savings

James Hind, chief executive of carwow, said: “This is a challenging time for the industry, with diesel demonisation and economic and political uncertainty dominating the headlines.

“As a result, the industry is having to think fast and think differently to tempt consumers into buying.

“At carwow our own research among car buyers and owners has clearly shown there is a distinct lack of certainty, in particular around the future of traditionally fuelled cars and this is increasingly evident in the behaviour we are seeing on our website.

“Interest in diesel cars has fallen by over a third as consumers struggle to make sense of the conflicting information being presented by the government.”

Hind said that the plus side to the tough economic conditions had been the industry's response to the slowdown, with initiatives like scrappage and highly competitive finance packages helping to stimulate growth.

He said: “At carwow we reported a record trading month following the launch of industry wide scrappage schemes in September, and have seen uptake of finance packages as a funding method grow to represent a large majority of our sales.

“Some brands did emerge from 2017 showing growth on carwow. Indeed, Land Rover, Peugeot, Seat, Jaguar and Volkswagen all showed increases over the year on sales on our website.

“As we enter 2018 with manufacturers and dealers offering very attractive pricing and packages, this should serve to boost trading as we enter the crucial first quarter and climb towards plate change.”