CAR buyers are getting discounts of up to 25 per cent on new SUVs because of a backlash on diesel vehicles.

A survey by What Car? between June and August found “achievable discounts” of almost £3,000 — up six per cent on previous years.

The bargains are due to fears over diesel taxes along with a rise in the numbers of SUV produced.

Rolls-Royce and SEAT recently joined the growing list of car makers to launch an SUV.

In the past they have been in such high demand car dealers have been able to refuse discounts and insist on the full list price.

But What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: “Large SUVs tend to be diesels and the negative publicity and threat of future diesel taxes could well have played a part in dealers finally starting to offer discounts. The fact that there are so many models for people to choose from now has probably contributed to the number of deals available.”

What Car? found that average discounts available across the new car market as a whole were eight per cent.

That is worth an average £2,500 off list prices - despite a decline in deals on small cars and family cars.