Dealers rush to clear stock

Massive savings on new cars are on offer before September as dealers rush to clear stock that doesn’t meet new emissions rules.

Motorists can save more than a third in the ‘everything must go’ sale, which analysts at online motor retail specialist BuyaCar.co.uk say is one of the biggest one-off discount events ever.

The price cuts affect large numbers of car manufacturers. Savings of several thousand pounds are available on cars made by Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Seat and Nissan.

These deals have been triggered by a new exhaust emissions test that comes into full force on September 1. From that date, every new car on sale should meet the new test standard. Until then, manufacturers are desperate to sell vehicles that were tested under the old system.

Other manufacturers have already pre-registered cars to beat the deadline. Typically, this means that a car dealership will be listed as the first owner, but they are otherwise little different to brand new models.

Car manufacturers are reluctant to reveal exactly how many cars they need to sell before the end of September, and many are thought to have been quietly pre-registering models for several months, and then feeding them into the market. Despite the lack of publicity, this increased supply has been helping to push prices lower.

Not every manufacturer is scrambling to sell cars, as many are taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to continue selling some older cars, which haven’t passed the new test, for up to a year after September 1.