See all Motoring NewsNew car sales in Ireland have strongly rebounded this year. In fact, compared to the same time last year, sales of new cars are actually up by 18 per cent so far. That’s down to a combination of factors. Mostly it’s because, globally, car production is recovering from the problems it faced last year — mostly the constricted supply of computer chips — and so supply has eased, and more customers are able to get their cars in a timely fashion.
The push towards electric cars is helping too. EV sales in Ireland this year are up by 45 per cent on 2022’s figures, and electric cars’ share of the market is now only a couple of percentage points behind that of diesel cars. Who would have thought that possible, even just a few years ago?
With supply improving, and more cars available, there are now some good offers around for those looking for a 232 car, especially if you’re ready to buy before the end of July. Here’s a roundup of what’s available…
Alfa Romeo Offers
If you buy a new Alfa Romeo before the end of July, you get a choice of offers. You can pick from either three years’ free servicing with Alfa Care which covers you for up to 15,000km each year, or get a 4.9 per cent APR finance package on any Alfa Romeo model along with a ‘Drivers’ Tribe’ pack.
Audi Offers
If you fancy an Audi, the German car maker has special finance package offers available for specific models — namely, the A4, A5, A6 and Q8 e-tron. Call into your local Audi dealer for more details on those.
Citroen Offers
Citroen also has a special finance offer in place — a 3.65 per cent APR package if you’re buying a C3, C3 Aircross, C4, e-C4 X, C5 Aircross, C5 X or e-Berlingo. If you want the bigger electric E-Spacetourer, then it’s a 5.9 per cent APR finance pack.
CUPRA Offers
Want something with even cheaper finance than that? Well, Cupra — the electric and high-performance brand spun off from SEAT — has a zero per cent finance offer in place for its Formentor crossover and Born electric hatchback models.
Dacia Offers
Speaking of cheaper, they don’t come much more affordable than a Dacia, which is currently publicising its range by telling you what they cost on finance per day, rather than per month as with most car makers. So, you could have the Sandero hatchback for just €5 per day on a PCP finance plan. That’s about the same cost as a fancy coffee. Or you could have the crossover-styled Stepway for €5.50 per day. The Duster SUV is €6.50 per day, and the seven-seat Jogger comes in at all the sevens; €7.77 per day.
Fiat Offers
Fiat, meanwhile, is giving you a choice of offers. Buy before the end of July, and you can choose from a discounted monthly repayment; a €500 deposit contribution; a three-year service plan; two years’ road tax; or a free home charging point.
Jeep Offers
Jeep — closely related to Fiat of course — is offering a similar choice if you’re buying either a Renegade or a Compass before the end of July. Do that and you can pick from a 2.9 per cent APR finance package; a two-year extended warranty; a three-year service plan; or two years’ road tax.
Kia Offers
Kia is offering a small interest rate — 1.9 per cent APR — on its big EV6 electric car, which can be had with monthly repayments starting from €568 per month. The rest of the range gets a 3.9 per cent APR finance rate, which means you can buy a Sportage for €374 per month, €463 per month for the Sportage hybrid or €492 per month for the Sportage plug-in hybrid. Other monthly repayments include €451 for the Niro EV, €406 for the Niro plug-in hybrid and €386 for the Niro hybrid. Want a Ceed? That’ll be €302 for the hatchback, or €374 for the plug-in hybrid XCeed crossover. The big Sorento starts from €583 per month, or €574 for the plug-in hybrid, while you can have the small Stonic crossover for €241 per month. Want something smaller? Well, the tiny Picanto hatchback is available from just €165 per month. Kia is also offering a free home charging point for any of its electric or plug-in hybrid models.
Mazda Offers
If you’d like a Mazda, the compact MX-30 electric crossover is available from €295 per month on a 4.9 per cent APR finance package. The CX-30 crossover can be had from €380 per month with a 5.9 per cent APR finance plan, or you could get into the bigger CX-60 SUV from €553 per month on a 6.9 per cent APR finance plan. The Mazda3 hatchback costs from €353 per month with 5.9 per cent APR interest, or you could have the CX-5 SUV for €450 per month on 6.9 per cent interest. You can choose from two different compact Mazda2 hatchbacks — a conventional petrol model from €250 per month, or a hybrid from €271 per month, both on 6.9 per cent APR finance. Or you could buy the MX-5 sports car from €422 per month, also at 6.9 per cent APR. All of those offers are valid to the end of July, though the Mazda3 and CX-30 offers are available on ‘2023 model year’ only while stocks last.
Nissan Offers
Nissan is also offering 6.9 per cent APR finance across almost all of its range, including the Leaf, Juke, Juke Hybrid, Qashqai, Qashqai e-Power and X-Trail e-Power, but not on the all-electric Ariya SUV.
Opel Offers
Opel is offering three years’ free servicing on all of its models, and you can choose from two finance plans. There’s a 50/50 Hire Purchase package, in which you pay 50 per cent of the car’s price up front, but you get cheaper monthly repayments and 4.9 per cent APR interest; or there’s a 4.9 per cent APR PCP package available too.
Ora Offers
Ora — the recently arrived Chinese electric car brand — is offering a choice of either €209 monthly repayments on its Funky Cat EV, or a €1,500 discount on the list price.
Peugeot Offers
Peugeot will give you a two-years’ free extension to the warranty on any of its cars in July, bringing it to an impressive five years of cover. There’s also 4.65 per cent finance on PCP and 5.65 per cent for Hire Purchase, and an inclusive service plan available (although we’re told that’s at participating dealers only). Pretty well all of the current Peugeot line-up is included in these offers — 208, 2008, 308, 3008, 408, 508, 5008, Rifter and Traveller, as well as the electric e-208, e-2008, 308 plug-in hybrid and 3008 plug-in hybrid.#
Polestar Offers
Polestar is offering 3.9 per cent APR PCP finance packages, and there are some keen prices on certain versions of its Polestar 2 electric saloon. Some specific qualifying stock is eligible for a €3,500 SEAI grant – that’s the standard reduced grant from July 1, but there’s some separate limited stock which also qualifies for a €5,000 Environmental Bonus from Polestar. That offer only applies to cars purchased via finance from Polestar Financial Services.
Renault Offers
Renault has a spread of interest rates available on its range. There’s a 6.9 per cent APR package available for the Clio, Clio E-Tech hybrid, Captur, Arkana, Arkana E-Tech Full Hybrid and Austral E-Tech Full Hybrid. Or you can have a 5.9 per cent APR deal for a Captur E-Tech Full Hybrid, while 4.9 per cent APR finance is available on Renault’s all-electric models — the Zoe E-Tech and the Megane E-Tech. All of Renault’s range now comes with a five-year warranty and included delivery pricing, by the way.
SEAT Offers
SEAT has a new PCP finance offer available with interest rates starting from 4.9 per cent on selected models — including the Ibiza, Leon, Arona, Ateca and Tarraco — with an optional three-year service plan which you can add on for €12.99 per month.
Skoda Offers
Skoda also has a new PCP offer — 5.9 per cent APR with three years’ servicing for the Karoq, Octavia, Scala, Fabia, Kodiaq and Kamiq. You can do better than that, though. How about zero per cent APR finance for the electric Enyaq iV Coupe, which also comes with a two-year tyre and maintenance plan? If you fancy the big Superb saloon or estate, that can be had with 3.9 per cent APR PCP finance and three years’ servicing plan.
Subaru Offers
Subaru has the hybrid Forester e-Boxer available on a 4.9 per cent APR Hire Purchase or PCP finance package, which also includes three years’ free servicing. That’s also available for the hybrid XV e-Boxer crossover, or the big Outback estate.
Suzuki Offers
If it’s a Suzuki you want, you can get the Swift, Ignis, Vitara, or S-Cross which are all available on a tempting zero per cent finance plan.
Toyota Offers
Toyota, like many other brands, is offering different interest rates on different models. So, there’s a 6.9 per cent APR package offered on the Highlander Hybrid, RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, C-HR, Corolla Touring Sports, Corolla Saloon, Corolla Hatchback, Yaris Cross, Yaris and Yaris Hybrid and Aygo X. If you want a Corolla Cross or a bZ4X electric SUV, then those are on a 4.9 per cent APR package, or there’s a 7.9 per cent APR package for the Camry hybrid saloon.
Volkswagen Offers
Volkswagen, by contrast, is dividing up its offers by monthly repayments. From €259 per month, you can have a new Polo or electric ID.3, or it’s €269 for the Taigo crossover. A Golf will cost you from €389 per month, while the electric e-up! is just €209 per month. For €399 per month, you could have the electric ID.5 coupe crossover, or the more practical ID.4 can be had from €319 per month. A compact T-Cross crossover starts from €339 per month, or there’s the sleek Arteon four-door coupe from €529 per month. The hugely popular T-Roc crossover starts from €279 per month, or you could have the Golf GTE plug-in hybrid starting from €679 per month. The Tiguan is available from €499 per month, or if you need more seats, there’s the seven-seat Tiguan Allspace, starting from the same €499 per month.
Volvo Offers
Volvo is splitting its finance offers across its different models — so there’s a 3.95 per cent PCP finance offer for the C40 and XC40; or there’s a 5.95 per cent PCP finance package for early orders for the new EX30 and EX90 models. If you want either a XC60 or V60, then it’s a 4.95 per cent PCP finance package.