In the second of this series, we look at the price changes that will be hitting the executive marques after July 1st. Paddy Comynreports.
MERCEDES-BENZ
Mercedes-Benz was quite late in showing their hand with their post-July prices but the results of the change are pretty dramatic and probably not what some of their rivals expected.
Mercedes now has a huge range which starts with the A-Class. This model falls in price right across the range, from €365 for the A150 petrol coupé automatic to €4,395 for the A200 CDI diesel.
There are some substantial price drops on the B-Class hatchback too, with a mammoth €5,872 off the B180 CDI Sport model, which falls into band B. Even the B150 petrol model drops in price a little, with €355-€390 off.
Only the B150 Sport automatic and B200 turbo sport and automatic record price increases.
In the C-Class, almost every single model, regardless of whether its VRT increases or not, falls in price. These vary from €5,276 off a C180 Elegance; €5,690 off a C200 Elegance; €7,092 off a C230 Elegance and €7,967 off a C280 Elegance. The C350 drops by €6,485 and even the C63 AMG, which jumps from 30 per cent VRT to 36 per cent VRT, somehow manages to fall in price by €4,955.
The CLK coupé and cabriolet, which is due for replacement, falls in price, with drops of €8,150-€17,955 in the case of the coupé (the greatest reduction in the case of the 220 CDi) and there are reductions of €7,430-€16,450 with the cabriolet. Again, rather bizarrely the biggest price reduction is for the CLK 64 AMG, with 344g/km of CO2 in band G.
The most dramatic changes are in the E-Class range. The bread and butter of the range would previously have been the E200 petrol. This range increases in price by between €10,600-€15,477.
There will probably be an almost total change to diesel, with the E220 which sits in bands D and E, dropping in price by between €12,515-€16,374.
That latter price is off the cost of an E220 CDi Avantgarde manual, falling from €67,184 to €50,810 overnight. There are also reductions to the E280 CDi of €9,631-€17,477, in the case of the E280 CDi Avantgarde that is a 23 per cent price reduction from €74,594 to €57,117.
There are increases to the E350, E500 and E63 AMG models, which all jump into band G, and increase by €3,008-€12,180.
The CLS model also drops in price for popular models, with the CLS 350 petrol falling by €3,565 and the CLS 320 CDI falling by €3,565, despite both carrying 32 per cent VRT.
The 500 and 63 AMG versions increase by €2,615-€8,580 respectively.
Not surprisingly, models like the S-Class increase in price by €2,910 for the 320 CDi to €26,150 for the S65 AMG L. The SLK350 Auto roadster falls in price by €5(yes, a fiver)-€3,475 despite an increase in VRT on all models, apart from the SL55 AMG which goes up by €1,100.
The new SL increases by €3,075-€27,510, although most potential owners won't be too worried. The CL coupé rises by €14,365 to a weighty €30,820 for the flagship CL65 AMG model.
In terms of their SUVs, the ML increases by €2,000-€7,705 and the GL increases by €8,470-€11,555. All of these SUVs now occupy the highest band. There are also increases of between €5,500-€9,100 for the R-Class MPV.
Rush now to buy:E200, CLK 200, C180, S-Class, SL, ML
Wait until July 1st:Any C-Class or E-Class diesel
BMW
BMW was the first to show its hand, way back in April, with plenty of good news in terms of significant falls in the price of its diesel models.
However, the good news did not end there: a large selection of its petrol range fell in price as well due to the firm's efforts at lowering carbon emissions on all engine types. Models like the 1-Series fell by €1,770-€6,351.
The 3-Series also benefits from some major price changes - there are reductions of up to €10,497 on some models, especially the diesel models where the 318d models fall into band B. However, it is the 5-Series model that sees the biggest price reductions, with the 520d certain to be the top selling model.
The 520d M Sport, with manual transmission, falls in price by up to €9,168.
Larger models in the range are set ot increase in price but even then the German marque's efforts at lowering emissions has softened the blow.
The X5, 7-Series, most of the Z4 range and the petrol versions of the 6-Series increase in price, while there are reductions on the 2.0-litre diesel X3, the 2.0-litre petrol Z4 and, amazingly, the diesel versions of the 6-Series coupé and convertible, which fall in price by up to €2,852. Of course, buyers of the M models, such as the M3, M5 or M6, need to hurry. The M3 convertible increases by €9,321, the M5 saloon by €11,555 and the M6 convertible by €14,667.
Rush now to buy:Any of the M models
Wait until July 1st:1-Series, 3-Series, 5-Series diesels
LEXUS
If there was a brand to buy now it would be Lexus. The majority of their range increases in price from July 1st. Exceptions are the IS220d, which drops in price by €1,220-€6,650.
The IS 250 petrol automatic has lower CO2 emissions than the manual version, so falls in price by €2,735-€3,045. The manual versions of the IS250 increases by €4,935-€5,480, so expect these to be slow sellers.
The entire GS range increases in price by €6,740-€8,390. The Hybrid GS450H increases by €6,740-€7,295 now that there is a cap on the VRT reduction of €2,500. The RX range increases by €6,870-€8,255, with the hybrid version increasing by €7,757.
The LS range increases in price by €12,000-€13,600, with the increase on the LS600H of €12,000 not as large as previously estimated.
The high performance ISF increases in price by €7,430 to €114,930 and, not that many will really care, the SC Range increases by €12,280 to €130,100.
Rush now to buy:Hybrids, ISF
Wait until July 1st:IS220D, IS250 Auto
AUDI
Prices in the Audi range changes quite significantly, depending on which engine you choose. Almost the entire A3 range reduces in price, from €770-€6,220.
The biggest price reductions come with the diesel versions, with one model, the 1.9-litre TDi E model falling into band A. The 1.4-litre TFSI petrol model falls into band B, also making it an attractive buy, and remains the entry-point into the range. All A3 cabriolets reduce in price too, with the biggest reductions reserved for the diesel versions.
The A4 range also does well from the changes. The 1.8-litre TFSI petrol model falls into band D and reduces in price by €1,400-€2,300, but this is nothing compared to the reductions in the diesel range which vary from €1,400-€6,700.
There is €6,700 off the 2.0-litre TDI A4, and that means it will most certainly be a big seller, with some models falling into band B.
All A4 cabriolet models increase in price, with the exception of the 2.0-litre TFSI models which are down by €850 and the 2.0-litre TDi models, which fall by €670-€745.
The best buy of the TTs is definitely the new 2.0-litre TDi version. This version will cost just €44,180 and will have road tax of just €150 per year since it resides in band B.
All of the A5 range reduces in price by between €2,600-€4,900 apart from the S5 which increases by €6,710-
€7,300. The A6 petrol models increase in price with the obvious exception of the 2.0-litre TFSI engine. The 170bhp version falls in price by €2,600-€4,900, falling into tax band E and F.
Even though the Multitronic versions of the 2.0-litre TFSI A6 are in band F, with 32 per cent VRT, they still come down in price. The same is true of the diesel versions.
All diesel A6 models come down in price, even though some versions reside in band G. The greatest savings are on the 2.0-litre TDI 140bhp version which now is in band B, with €7,070 off the price.
Oddly, the 2.7-litre TDi V6 Multitronic, despite jumping from 30 per cent VRT to 36 per cent VRT, still manages to come down in price by €2,850, whereas the 3.2-litre FSI petrol version, which is subject to the same change in VRT, increases by €5,500.
Presumably there has been some price realignment to make the diesel models more competitive.
The entire Audi Q7 range increases in price from €3,415-€9,040, with all residing in the highest band, band G, with €2,000 per annum road tax. It is a similar story for the A8 range, with all increasing in price, by €2,640-€14,735. Only the 2.8-litre petrol and 3.0-litre TDi reside in band F, with all the rest in band G. Finally the high performance R8 jumps by the highest amount - rising in price by €17,110-€18,265.
Rush now to buy:Q7, R8
Wait until July 1st:A3, A4, A5, A6 diesels
VOLVO
Volvo's range of cars will have been hit slightly by the change in VRT laws as regards FlexiFuel vehicles. Since this is capped at €2,500 instead of a 50 per cent VRT reduction, the price of these models will increase.
The C30 FFV version increases by at least €2,500, the S40 FFV by at least €2,250, the V70 FFV by at least €5,190 and the S80 FFV by at least €4,850. Now is the time to buy these if you want to make savings on them.
From July 1st, the 1.6-litre petrol will be the cheapest C30, as it will be in the S40 and V50. The 2.0-litre diesel will be the cheapest V70 and S80. There are big drops in VRT for the band B 1.6D engine in the C30, S40 and V50. The S40 1.6D falls by €2,500 after July 1st. The band C 2.0D engine in the C30, S40 and V50 drops VRT by 10 per cent.
Both the 2.0D and D5 Geartronic versions of the V70 and S80 see reductions in price.
The S80 2.0D SE Lux falls by €5,625, and the D5 Geartronic version by €935.
Rush now to buy:FFV Flexifuel models
Wait until July 1st:diesels