Great finance deals key to keeping car sales alive

With the Scrappage Scheme drawing to a close and the Government resisting calls to extend the incentive, the motor industry is looking for ways to maintain new car sales when Government’s assistance is removed.

The latest research into motivating car consumers has found that interest free finance is the most appealing incentive to new car buyers, and the most likely to keep pulling in potential buyers to the showrooms.

While car sales may be at the moment recovering thanks to the Government’s Scrappage Scheme, looking ahead to the imminent future without large discounts, what can the industry do to keep sales moving?

Well according to research from car consumer champion, RoadTestReports.co.uk, car buyers are most likely to be swayed by great finance deals; namely interest free credit.

And controversially, despite growing unemployment, buyers are the least likely to be swayed by fancy gimmicks such as redundancy payment protection insurance.

The car review website polled car consumers to ask; ‘Other than a large discount, which incentive would most encourage you to buy a new car?’ Interest free finance was the most popular response with 36 per cent of the vote, while a free model upgrade came second with 27 per cent of the vote.

Spokesperson for RoadTestReports.co.uk, Faye Sunderland says: “Financing a new car is a massive hurdle for cash-strapped consumers, while cheap credit has been drying up; our research has shown that this is a primary motivator to car buyers. To keep buyers coming to the forecourts, retailers need to do all they can to secure the best finance deals for their customers.

“The buyers are out there, they just need a strong financial proposition to pull them in.”