Discounts offered by dealers on diesel cars remain on par with those on petrol models despite dwindling sales, finds new analysis by What Car.

Its mystery shoppers found that, on average, diesel cars were being discounted by 7.81% while petrol models were receiving 7.11% reductions.

Alternative fuel vehicles were discounted on average by 4.42% and £1725.

“Despite the negative press in recent times, diesel remains an optimal choice for many drivers and our research suggests the industry has adjusted its supply to meet the lower demand, and that many buyers know buying diesel can still make sense.

“Our mystery shoppers analyse data from across the country, and we back our research by having all new cars available to buy from retailers with at least the Target Price discount saving applied through What Car’s website,” said Rachael Prasher, managing director of What Car.

The study concluded that diesel car prices are holding firm despite the dramatic drop in demand for new cars powered by the fuel.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), March saw a 21.4% drop in new diesel registrations, while petrol was up by 5.1%. Diesel’s overall market stood at 27.4%. 

The research also found that Citroen offered the biggest percentage discounts – with buyers saving on average 11.41% off the list price. Volkswagen vehicles came with the second largest percentage discounts, while Vauxhall and Seat offered the third and fourth largest savings to new car buyers.

Average discounts across all brands dropped from 7.14% in January to 6.95% in March, with new car buyers receiving on average £2652 off the list price at the beginning of March. 

Top 10 average manufacturer discounts between January and March 2019 

Manufacturer	Discount
Citroen	11.41%
Volkswagen	11.26%
Vauxhall	10.97%
SEAT	9.81%
Smart	9.56%
Mercedes-Benz	8.63%
Ford	8.57%
Volvo	8.11%
Suzuki	7.96%
Mitsubishi	7.63%