IRISH MOTORISTS will soon be able to cash in on the ever-more desperate incentives British car dealers are introducing in an attempt to clear unsold stock. Borrowing sales techniques more commonly seen in supermarkets, UK dealers are now introducing buy-one car, get-one-free offers, where both vehicles are handed over at the time of purchase. It's not a buy one now, get one later offer.
The moves are likely to cause further pain for embattled Irish dealers trying to cope with increased competition from Britain. Their problems are not helped by the upcoming drop in VAT rates in Britain to 15 per cent.
Earlier this month, British online car retailer Broadspeed, which offers unsold dealer stock at discounted prices, introduced what is believed to be Britain's first free car offer. The firm offered a two-for-one deal on its 2.4-litre petrol Dodge Avengers. It claims to have sold out within hours, but it would not say how many cars it sold.
The website's founder, Simon Empsom, now claims his firm has teamed up with Irish car dealers in Dublin and Galway to offer similar car deals to Irish motorists. Within a fortnight Irish car buyers who want two cars for the price of one will be quoted in euro with VRT and delivery costs included, he said.
Broadspeed repeated its initial success with its latest offer, which ended on Monday: offering two new Kia Magentis 2.0-litre petrol saloons for the price of one.
"We are now negotiating for more cars and expect to be running these deals until at least Christmas," said Emspom.
Other dealers are also now offering similar deals. A Subaru dealer in Leicester recently offered a free Justy supermini with every Tribeca purchased.
The offers come on the back of the worst year this decade for British car dealers, who have so far sold 185,000 fewer new cars compared to 2007. Over 200 British dealers are expected go out of business by Christmas.
As the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Paul Everitt said: "The motor industry faces a set of unprecedented market conditions . . . this has probably been one of the most difficult periods we've faced for the past 16 to 17 years."