New car discounts as high as 54 per cent have landed in Britain

My passion for cars with healthy discounts began in 1982, when I worked and saved hard before buying my first brand-new motor. It was a low-spec Mk1 Volkswagen Golf, officially priced at £6,000 but reduced, after a bit of haggling, to nearer £5k. Not a bad buy, but I should have haggled harder. In later years, I did exactly that. My ultimate goal was to track down the rarest of automotive beasts: half-price new cars, vans or pick-up trucks. 

I found discounts at, or around, the 40 per cent mark. Also spotted were two identical factory-fresh cars offered for the price of one. But genuine, no-nonsense deals unequivocally stating that customers can drive away in new models whose prices have been slashed in half were frustratingly elusive. Until now.

Finally, discounts as high as 54 per cent have landed in Britain. And the brand responsible for them is not a fringe maker of low-quality models being peddled via a deeply demoralised dealer network. Far from it. It’s Toyota – arguably the world’s number one manufacturer and widely regarded as the maker of the most reliable vehicles on the planet – that’s responsible for such groundbreaking, consumer-friendly mega-discounts this late spring/early summer.

Don’t get overexcited, because these unprecedented price cuts only apply to a limited number of car-derived vans and other models officially classed as light commercial vehicles (LCVs), which are therefore more suited to companies and sole traders than individual private motorists. But it’s the thought that counts. And Toyota did a lot of thinking before deciding that price reductions in excess of 50 per cent are doable. 

I don’t know and, frankly, don’t care whether this is the famously traditional Japanese company dramatically reacting to increasingly intense pressure from its South Korean neighbours. Or perhaps it’s the even greater (and then some) threat from the ever-growing army of Chinese manufacturers that’s forcing Toyota to break with tradition, as it aggressively plays the discount game like never before.

Either way, if UK consumers order before 30 June, these huge 50-plus per cent savings can be had on a small selection of LCV-class vehicles, including the Proace electric van and ‘commercial’ (two-seat) versions of hybrid-powered Corolla cars. 

True, these price cuts only apply to a tiny proportion of Toyota’s huge product range; the VAT and general taxation system for LCVs can be complicated and confusing; and potential buyers should read the small print and calculate total costs, paying particular attention to the high interest charges they may be forced to pay.

But on a more positive note, Toyota is, in effect, declaring war on its rivals. So does this mean that they will, in turn, slash their prices by similar percentages? We can only hope.

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