Nissan has denied accusations that it has increased the price of its new Pixo supermini by £1000 to compensate for the discount required by the government’s scrappage scheme.
The firm has added £1000 to the Pixo range just under two weeks before the car goes on sale. The entry-level Pixo, originally priced at £5995, now costs £6995, a rise of almost 17 per cent, while the most expensive model is £8645.
Blog: Nissan could pay the price for the Pixo's extra £1000
Some industry insiders suggested that the price rises were in reaction to the £1000 manufacturer discount required by the government’s scrappage scheme, which could wipe out the profit on a car such as the Pixo.
But Nissan denied scrappage had influenced the price rise. “We realised that the very low original price of the Pixo was unsustainable in the long run,” said Gloria Maydew, a Nissan spokesperson. “We either had to raise it now, before we put it on sale, or wait until the car went on sale and change it then.”
The firm also said the continuing weakness of the pound contributed to the decision.
The change brings the price of a Pixo closer to the price of its sister car, Suzuki’s Alto, which starts at £6795.
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