Funding a vehicle through retail finance offers has become more expensive in Q2, with average monthly payments increasing by 4%, from £311.40 to an average of £324 a month.

According to AM’s analysis of 288 manufacturer representative retail offers from their websites, price increases are across the board, with average deposits up by 16% to £6,092 and average balloon payments up by 11.3% to an average of £12,929.

The level of 0% offers across the industry has also dropped 19%, with 51 vehicles available with no interest, compared with 63 offers in Q1.

The manufacturer finance houses will be generating higher margins on cars funded throughout Q2, as the average APR has also increased from 3.78% in Q1 to 4.28%.

Part of this is seasonal, as manufacturers are not pursuing customers quite as aggressively as in Q1 for the plate-change month.

The market is not moving radically – nearly two thirds (63%) of all offers are priced either at or below that £324 average monthly price for Q2.

There is also a trend in Q2 towards four-year offers, with almost 70% of the market’s representative examples calculated at 48 months.

Dacia maintains the lowest-priced offer again in Q2, with its Sandero at £79 a month. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is close behind at £79.78 and while it attracts a much higher deposit of £9,398 for its offer, it is available at 0%.

The S-Class 560 AMG Line Coupé is at the other end of the spectrum, with a monthly payment of £1,189, making it the most expensive model by monthly payment in Q2. The cost isn’t surprising for such a premium, performance Mercedes and most of the more expensive end of the table is premium niche products, but there are some outliers.

Kia has its e-Niro in the second half of the table with an offer at £517.12 a month and the Stinger at £534.64. This puts these models in close company with an Audi A7 Sportback and Audi RS 3 in terms of monthly affordability.

Citroën takes the title for the highest APR rate in Q2 at nearly 8% on the Citroën C4 Cactus. The Seat Mii also attracts a higher APR than average at 7.3%, while Audi, Range Rover and Mitsubishi are all pushing higher APRs on their niche products.

Diesel’s decline continued in Q1 by 20.3% and, anecdotally, many of the representative examples show the petrol engine example first to consumers browsing online. Petrol and alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) registrations are just about picking up the slack from diesel.

Toyota has the most affordable hybrid, with a 0% offer at £189 a month for its Yaris Hybrid Icon Tech. The Renault Zoe is the only pure EV on the most affordable AFV list at £199 (excluding a £69-a-month battery rental fee). This puts into perspective how far away pure EVs still are from the mainstream, with no other manufacturer able to put a representative example retail offer together (other than Renault) that sits below the national average of £324.

 

Top new car finance deals for retail buyers

Model Finance type Deposit Term Monthly payment Final payment APR Offer ends
Top 10 most affordable by monthly payment
Dacia Sandero Access Sce 75 PCP £1,161 48 £79 £2,974 6.9% 01/07/2019
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 3 Petrol Manual 2WD PCP £9,398 36 £79 £11,225 0% 26/06/2019
Mitsubishi Mirage 3 Petrol Manual PCP £3,999 36 £80 £4,166 6.9% 26/06/2019
Dacia Sandero Stepway Essential SCe 75 PCP £1,769 48 £99 £3,700 6.9% 01/07/2019
Ford KA+ Zetec 1.2 Ti-VCT 85PS PCP £3,427 24 £99 £6,147 0% 30/06/2019
Dacia Duster Access SCe 115 4x2 PCP £1,446 48 £109 £5,213 6.9% 01/07/2019
Dacia Logan MCV Access SCe 75 PCP £1,414 48 £109 £2,957 6.9% 01/07/2019
VW up! beats 1.0 60PS S/S 3dr PCP £3,331 36 £115 £4,183 0% 30/06/2019
Peugeot 108 Active 1.0L 72 3dr PCP £3,171 48 £118 £3,195 2.9% 30/06/2019
Suzuki Ignis Dualjet SZ3 PCP £1,837 48 £119 £5,269 6.9% 30/06/2019
Top 10 most affordable by 0% offer and lowest monthly payment
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 3 Petrol Manual 2WD PCP £9,398 36 £79 £11,225 0% 26/06/2019
Ford KA+ Zetec 1.2 Ti-VCT 85PS PCP £3,427 24 £99 £6,147 0% 30/06/2019
VW up! beats 1.0 60PS S/S 3dr PCP £3,331 36 £115 £4,183 0% 30/06/2019
Hyundai i10 SE 1.0 67PS petrol 2WD manual PCP £2,700 24 £125 £4,702 0% 30/06/2019
Mitsubishi AYGO x-trend PCP £2,906 42 £129 £4,770 0% 30/06/2019
Suzuki Swift 1.0 Boosterjet SZ-T PCP £2,486 48 £139 £5,341 0% 30/06/2019
Peugeot 208 Active 1.2L PureTech 82 S&S PCP £4,079 48 £149 £3,943 0% 30/06/2019
Škoda Fabia Hatch SE 1.0 MPI 75PS PCP £1,563 48 £149 £4,613 0% 01/07/19
Fiat 500X Urban 1.6 E-torQ 110PS PCP £3,798 37 £159 £7,288 0% 30/06/2019
Fiat 500L 1.4 95PS S-Design PCP £3,972 37 £159 £7,514 0% 30/06/2019
Top 10 highest APR rates
Mitsubishi Shogun Sport 3 Diesel Auto 4WD PCP £15,136 36 £301 £15,845 6.9% 26/06/2019
Range Rover Evoque R-Dynamic SE D180 AWD Auto PCP £8,090 36 £449 £26,187 6.9% 30/06/2019
Audi Q8 S line 50 TDI quattro 286 PS tiptronic PCP £13,237 48 £699 £32,471 7% 30/06/2019
Audi Q8 Vorsprung 50 TDI quattro 286 PS tiptronic PCP £20,872 48 £799 £40,641 7% 30/06/2019
Audi RS 3 Sportback TFSI quattro 400 PS S tronic PCP £9,597 48 £479 £21,623 7.1% 30/06/2019
Audi RS 3 Saloon quattro 400 PS S tronic PCP £9,863 48 £499 £21,441 7.1% 30/06/2019
Audi RS 3 Sportback Audi Sport Edition quattro 400 PS S tronic PCP £10,438 48 £529 £23,076 7.1% 30/06/2019
Audi RS 3 Saloon Audi Sport Edition quattro 400 PS S tronic PCP £10,628 48 £549 £22,994 7.1% 30/06/2019
Seat Mii Design Mii 1.0 12V 60ps PCP £149 48 £149 £2,972 7.3% 08/07/2019
Citroën C4 Cactus PureTech 110 S&S manual Flair PCP £4,135 48 £189 £6,840 7.9% 30/06/2019
Top 10 EV or hybrid models by lowest monthly payment
Toyota Yaris Hybrid Icon Tech PCP £3,901 42 £189 £7,110 0% 30/06/2019
Renault Zoe Dynamique Nav R110 PCP £3,066 48 £199 £4,775 4.9% 01/07/2019
Hyundai IONIQ Hybrid SE 1.6 Petrol 141PS PCP £5,500 36 £227 £9,495 4.9% 30/06/2019
Toyota Corolla Hybrid Design PCP £7,261 42 £229 £9,976 0% 30/06/2019
Toyota Corolla Hybrid Touring Sports Design PCP £6,752 42 £239 £11,094 0% 30/06/2019
Toyota C-HR Hybrid Design PCP £6,494 24 £249 £15,244 0% 30/06/2019
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Design PCP £7,851 24 £279 £17,722 0% 30/06/2019
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Juro Petrol Hybrid Auto 4WD PCP £12,202 36 £287 £14,980 5.9% 26/06/2019
Honda CR-V Hybrid SR 2.0 i-MMD 2WD eCVT - Solid Paint PCP £9,236 36 £335 £16,940 5.9% 30/06/2019
Kia Niro Self Charging Hybrid '3' 1.6 GDi 1.56kWh lithium-ion 140PS 6-speed auto DCT PCP £2,582 36 £335 £12,150 5.9% 30/06/2019