Car manufacturers have adjusted their retail offer strategies to kickstart the year with a 4.4% drop in the average monthly prices of PCP deals, to £311.40, according to AM’s latest quarterly data.

The increased affordability across manufacturers’ model ranges is in contrast to the 5.5% quarterly rise seen in Q4 2018.

AM’s analysis of 259 representative examples from manufacturer’s websites display a theme of increased affordability to target customers until the end of March.

More than half of all the offers collated by AM for Q1 (55.6%) are priced below that average £311.40 price point, demonstrating a push to make models across ranges more affordable in a quarter that will be critical for dealers’ bottom lines in 2019.

Average deposit levels also followed suit to become more affordable this quarter, dropping by 10% on average, from £5,845.50 to £5,250.92.

While not exactly affordable, the average balloon payment also fell in Q1 from £12,142, to £11,621. Manufacturer finance houses also reduced their margins in Q1 to 3.78% APR after an average of 4.35% APR in Q4 2018.

AM’s data tracked 63 0% offers in Q1, a big increase quarter-on-quarter, up from 41 in Q4 2018.

Dacia and Suzuki once again dominate the affordability rankings by lowest monthly payment, with the Sandero Access SCe 75 priced from just £79 a month. Dacia has four models in the top 10 most affordable list, although the brand is continuing with its strategy of a high APR at 6.9%, almost double the Q1 average, to offset the low deposits.

The best 0% offers with the lowest monthly payments are more of an eclectic mix of makes and models, with Ford, Toyota, Seat, Citroën, Fiat and Jeep all present in the top 10.

There are models such as the Ford Ka Zetec city car for £99 a month, a Fiat 500L MPV for £155 a month, Ford Tourneo Courier MPV for £159 and Jeep Renegade SUV for £169.

The Suzuki Swift is also worth mentioning due to an offer of no deposit and monthly payments of £179.54.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) end-of-year data for 2018, the UK’s new car diesel market declined 29.6% in 2018. While growth in petrol (8.7%) and alternative fuel vehicles (up 20.9%) replaced some of the loss, it has not been enough to offset the full shortfall.

The SMMT said many diesel owners are still adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach, keeping hold of their older, more polluting vehicles for longer.

Retailers have been armed in Q1 with some powerful AFV deals, with every vehicle in the top 10 most affordable offering monthly payments below the quarterly average of £311.40.

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid is the most affordable on the market right now at £189 a month over a 42-month 0% offer. The Renault Zoe is the most affordable pure electric on the market at £199 over three years at 4.9%.

Toyota makes up half of the most affordable AFV models in Q1, with premium offshoot Lexus also making it into the list with its CT200h. 

 

 

Model Finance type Deposit Term Monthly payment Final payment APR Offer ends
Top 10 models by lowest monthly payments
Dacia Sandero Access Sce 75 PCP £1,161.00 49 £79.00 £2,974.00 6.9% 01/04/2019
Ford Ka+ Zetec 1.2 Ti-VCT 85PS PCP £3,322.00 24 £99.00 £6,147.00 0% 31/03/2019
Dacia Sandero Stepway Essential TCe 90 PCP £2,286.00 49 £109.00 £3,781.00 7% 01/04/2019
Dacia Duster Access SCe 115 4x2 PCP £1,446.00 49 £109.00 £5,213.00 6.9% 01/04/2019
Dacia Logan MCV Access SCe 75 PCP £1,414.00 49 £109.00 £2,957.00 6.9% 01/04/2019
Suzuki Ignis Dualjet SZ3 PCP £1,912.11 48 £109.00 £5,263.00 6.9% 31/03/2019
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 2 Petrol Manual 2WD PCP £6,516.00 36 £119.40 £10,554.00 6% 27/03/2019
Toyota Aygo x-trend 1.0 VVT-i Manual PCP £2,901.00 42 £129.00 £4,770.00 0% 31/03/2019
Citroen C1 VTi 72 manual 5dr Flair PCP £2,429.00 48 £129.00 £3,868.00 0% 31/03/2019
Suzuki Celerio SZ3 Dualjet 5dr PCP £2,083.21 48 £139.00 £3,383.00 6.9% 31/03/2019
Top 10 0% offers at lowest monthly payment
Ford KA+ Zetec 1.2 Ti-VCT 85PS PCP £3,322.00 24 £99.00 £6,147.00 0% 31/03/2019
Toyota Aygo x-trend 1.0 VVT-i Manual PCP £2,901.00 42 £129.00 £4,770.00 0% 31/03/2019
Citroen C1 VTi 72 manual 5dr Flair PCP £2,429.00 48 £129.00 £3,868.00 0% 31/03/2019
Seat Design Mii 1.0 12V 60PS PCP £1,269.00 48 £149.00 £3,128.00 0% 01/04/2019
Seat Ibiza FR 1.0 TSI 115PS PCP £1,999.00 48 £149.00 £6,813.00 0% 01/04/2019
Citroen C3 PureTech 68 manual Feel PCP £2,754.00 48 £149.00 £4,703.00 0% 31/03/2019
Fiat Panda Waze 1.2 70PS PCP £1,835.00 36 £155.00 £4,350.00 0% 31/03/2019
Fiat 500L S-Design 1.4 95PS S-Design PCP £3,629.00 36 £155.00 £7,542.00 0% 31/03/2019
Ford Tourneo Courier Zetec 1.0 EcoBoost 100PS PCP £2,963.00 36 £159.00 £6,728.00 0% 31/03/2019
Jeep Renegade Sport 1.0 GSE T3 120PS Manual PCP £5,897.00 36 £169.00 £6,719.00 0% 31/03/2019
Top 10 EV or hybrid models by lowest monthly payment
Toyota Yaris Icon Tech Hybrid Petrol 1.5 VVT-i Auto PCP £3,896.00 42 £189.00 £7,110.00 0% 31/03/2019
Renault Zoe Dynamique Nav R110 PCP £4,499.00 36 £199.00 £4,850.00 5% 01/04/2019
Toyota Corolla Hybrid Design 1.8 CVT PCP £4,964.00 42 £229.00 £9,967.50 0% 31/03/2019
Toyota C-HR Design 5dr Coupe FWD Hybrid 1.8 VVT-i Auto PCP £6,546.00 24 £249.00 £15,187.50 0% 31/03/2019
Lexus CT 200h with Sport Pack PCP £5,715.00 42 £259.00 £10,080.00 4% 31/03/2019
Ford Mondeo Titanium Edition HYBRID Electric 2.0 TiVCT 187PS Auto PCP £6,934.00 36 £269.00 £10,522.00 0% 31/03/2019
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Design 2.5 FWD Automatic PCP £7,588.00 24 £279.00 £17,730.00 0% 31/03/2019
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Juro Petrol Hybrid Auto 4WD PCP £12,202.00 36 £287.92 £14,980.00 5.9% 27/03/2019
Toyota Prius Business Edition Plus 5 door 1.8 VVT-i Auto PCP £5,664.00 42 £299.00 £12,802.50 4.9% 31/03/2019
Kia Niro Self Charging Hybrid 2 1.6 GDi 1.56kwh lithium-ion 139bhp 6-speed auto DCT PCP £2,249.00 36 £308.93 £10,797.00 5.9% 31/03/2019
Top 10 models by lowest deposit
Suzuki Swift 1.0 Boosterjet SZ-T PCP £0.00 48 £179.54 £5,381.00 0% 31/03/2019
Fiat 500 Pop 1.2 E6d PCP £0.00 36 £199.00 £4,846.00 0% 31/03/2019
Fiat 500 Collezione 1.2 70PS E6D PCP £0.00 36 £239.00 £5,656.00 0% 31/03/2019
Renault Clio Play TCe 75 PCP £169.00 48 £169.00 £5,511.00 0% 01/04/2019
Smart Fortwo Coupe Passion 72 PS (52 kW), manual, optional metallic body panels PCP £169.00 48 £169.00 £3,560.00 2% 31/03/2019
Smart Forfour Passion 72 PS (52 kW), manual PCP £169.00 48 £169.00 £3,370.00 2% 31/03/2019
Smart Fortwo Cabrio Passion 72PS (52 kW), manual with optional metallic body panels PCP £195.00 48 £195.00 £4,860.00 2% 31/03/2019
Renault Captur Iconic TCe 90 PCP £239.00 48 £239.00 £6,522.00 5% 01/04/2019
Nissan Juke Bose Personal Edition 1.6 Manual PCP £261.18 48 £261.18 £6,542.20 0% 31/03/2019
Hyundai i10 S 1.0 67PS petrol manual PCP £900.00 24 £197.77 £3,803.75 6.4% 31/03/2019