Best hybrid car deals: Ten biggest savings of up to £13,300 on models that mix petrol and electric power

Hybrid cars are very much back in the focus of the news agenda right now.

That's because Labour announced on Friday its latest plans to water down electric vehicle sales targets over the next three years.

With the government flip-flopping on when it intends to force the nation's motorists into EVs, what we do know is that some hybrids will stay in showrooms until 2035. Which ones? We're still none the wiser, for now.

Ministers and industry have long promoted them as a stepping stone to electrification. But eco campaigners in recent years have warned they're not as green as manufacturers are making out, especially plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) if drivers don't regularly adhere to the namesake and actually plug them in.

What drivers are more immediately concerned about is the premium price tags of motors that combine petrol and electric power.

Conventional 'self-charging' hybrids (HEVs) typically command premiums of £2,000 to £5,000 over an equivalent pure-petrol option. PHEVs are usually even pricier.

However, there are some big discounts to be had on hybrids right now, with Insider Car Deals exclusively revealing to This is Money and the Daily Mail the ten options with the largest savings...

With government planning to, yet again, move the goalposts on EV sales targets, hybrids are becoming an increasingly popular option for Britons. These are the most discounted models 

Dealers are willing to budge on the price of their hybrid cars more today than 12 months ago.

Pat Hoy, the brains behind Insider Car Deals, says the average total saving on a new hybrid is currently 11 per cent, worth £6,045 per car.

A year ago, it was only 8.7 per cent, or £5,110.

Hybrid buyers are now haggling bigger discounts than customers typically get off petrol cars - an average 10.3 per cent, or £4,599. They are also within touching distance of the savings on EVs, which currently add up to 11.9 per cent, or £6,455, on average.

Insider Car Deals can help you avoid overpaying for a car

Insider Car Deals is an independent car pricing service that mystery shops franchised dealers to establish the best discount that is really available on a given car, rather than the discount dealers typically offer. 

The difference between the two is the 'Discount Gap'.

For £95, buyers can order a Personal Deal Sheet for their chosen model, showing every discount that applies and a clear target price to aim for when negotiating. Those who would rather not negotiate at all can have Insider Car Deals negotiate with the dealer on their behalf.

Anyone who already has a quote can sense-check it, and see whether the discount offered is weak, average or genuinely strong.

Buyers regularly secure substantial extra savings beyond advertised discounts, far outweighing the cost of the Deal Sheet itself.

Insider Car Deals does not sell cars and is not paid by dealers or manufacturers. Its role is to provide independent pricing insight so buyers can avoid overpaying.

Every Personal Deal Sheet comes with a money-back guarantee.

Find out more by visiting Insidercardeals.co.uk

One of the reasons is the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the legally binding timeline the Government has set for carmakers to increase their electric car sales – and the policy Andy Burnham wants to scale back as part of the consultation to redefine EV sales targets announced on Friday.

While hybrids do not count towards ZEV sales targets, they do earn manufacturers significant 'ZEV credits' for reducing the carbon emissions across their entire model range.

That provides enough incentive for dealers to sell more of them, which might be why discounts are more significant than they were previously.

Pat also says carmakers make more money selling hybrids than EVs. This is partly because they do not have to absorb as much of the cost of the expensive battery packs that power their fully electric models.

Even if dealers are being incentivised to push hybrid sales harder, Pat says there remains a gulf between what salespeople typically offer customers and the lowest price they are actually prepared to accept. This he calls the 'Discount Gap'.

He knows this exists because his team of mystery shoppers consistently negotiate best prices in showrooms across the country while posing as ordinary members of the public to understand first-hand what consumers are being offered.

Another member of the team then plays hardball with sales staff to squeeze them for the biggest saving available using their knowhow and their industry knowledge. 

'We've found the average discount gap on the most-discounted hybrids is £1,213. That's money that should be in your pocket and not the dealer's,' Pat says.

Here are the ten hybrid models offering the biggest savings ahead of the September plate change.

The 'typical car buyer discount price' is what customers are usually offered in showrooms, while the 'Insider Car Deals discount price' reflects what the haggling experts can negotiate the price down to.

The Insider Car Deals price is inclusive of dealer margin discount, any manufacturer cash saving and any finance deposit contribution linked to a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) offer. 

Insider Car Deals found it could negotiate over £5,500 off the price of a new Peugeot 308 PHEV, which is pretty close to what typical buyers are being quoted in showrooms

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10. Peugeot 308 (PHEV) – 15.5% discount

Variant: Peugeot 308 1.6 PHEV 195 GT e-DSC7 

On the road (OTR) price: £37,200

Typical car buyer discount price: £32,207

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £31,429

Peugeot is the first brand in the countdown offering serious savings on its 308 plug-in hybrid.

It has the narrowest discount gap of the ten models featured, at £778 on the 1.6 PHEV 195 GT e-DSC7, priced at £37,200.

This suggests Peugeot dealers are typically quoting prices closer to what they are actually prepared to accept than most.

There's over £10,000 in discount to be negotiated off the price of a new BMW X1 PHEV, if you know how to haggle 

9. BMW X1 (PHEV) - 15.6% discount

Variant: xDrive 25e xLine 5dr Step Auto 

On the road (OTR) price: £44,895

Typical car buyer discount price: £39,292

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £37,909

BMW is the only manufacturer in this group offering no deposit contribution at all, relying instead on the lowest PCP APR in the list at 2.9 per cent.

Dealers are not always keen to reveal how far the price can really fall on the X1 plug-in hybrid.

On the xDrive25e xLine, priced at £44,895, mystery shopping revealed a discount gap of £1,383.

Insider Car Deals says it can get buyers £4,500 off the price of a PHEV MG HS, which is £1,200 more than customers are typically being offered by salesmen 

8. MG HS (PHEV) - 16.7% discount

Variant: 1.5 T-GDI PHEV Trophy 5dr Auto

On the road (OTR) price: £34,995

Typical car buyer discount price: £30,421

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £29,159

MG has taken a different route to push sales of its HS SUV. Its cash saving is the smallest of the ten cars here, but the finance offer does much of the heavy lifting, with a 0 per cent APR PCP deal and a £2,000 deposit contribution.

That does not mean there is nothing left to negotiate.

Posing as buyers of the 1.5 T-GDI PHEV Trophy, priced at £34,995, the Insider Car Deals team found a discount gap of £1,262.

Drivers can save almost a fifth off the price of a British-built Toyota Corolla family hatchback with a self-charging hybrid drivetrain 

7.  Toyota Corolla (HEV) - 19.7% discount

Variant: 2.0 Hybrid 178hp Design CVT 

On the road (OTR) price: £34,245

Typical car buyer discount price: £28,365

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £27,515

The Corolla is built at Toyota's Burnaston plant in Derbyshire and remains one of the most familiar self-charging hybrids on the road, which usually means dealers feel less need to offer heavy discounts, Pat says.

Yet the savings on offer still place it among the ten best in the hybrid market.

The discount gap is narrower than most, at £850 on the 2.0 Hybrid 178hp Design CVT, priced at £34,245.

The C-HR is one of Toyota's best-selling cars, but despite this, you can still negotiate almost a fifth off the OTR price if you get Insider Car Deals to do the bargaining for you

6. Toyota C-HR (HEV) - 19.9% discount

Variant: 1.8 Hybrid 140 GR Sport CVT

On the road (OTR) price: £39,685

Typical car buyer discount price: £32,979

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £31,785

Toyota sells more self-charging hybrids in Britain than any other manufacturer, and the C-HR is one of the reasons why.

Dealers have room for negotiation that they don't tend to advertise, Pat says.

On the 1.8 Hybrid 140 GR Sport CVT, priced at £39,685, the gap between the typical dealer offer and the achievable discount negotiated by his team came to £1,194.

The Kodiaq is a roomy plug-in hybrid family car, but at almost £45,000, the 1.5 TSI SE L isn't cheap. That said, Insider Car Deals negotiated almost a fifth off the Skoda list price 

5. Skoda Kodiaq (PHEV) - 19.9% discount

Variant: 1.5 TSI iV 204 SE L 5dr DSG 

On the road (OTR) price: £44,840

Typical car buyer discount price: £37,185

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £35,925

Skoda has quietly become one of the more aggressive sellers of plug-in hybrids, and the Kodiaq iV is the clearest example.

The Kodiaq is its largest and roomiest family car - and owners tend to really like them. 

On the 1.5 TSI iV 204 SE L DSG, priced at £44,840, the typical dealer offer sat £1,260 above the discount that was ultimately available after determined negotiation.

The Nissan Juke Hybrid with a 20% discount is highly appealing. Insider Car Deals says there is not a huge gap between what customers are typically offered and the best deal available 

4. Nissan Juke (HEV) - 20.2% discount

Variant: 1.6 Hybrid 143ps N-Connecta Auto

On the road (OTR) price: £30,295 

Typical car buyer discount price: £25,006

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £24,166

Nissan's Juke is in an unusual position; the Sunderland-built hybrid has just been updated for the 2026 model year, and the outgoing specification is being sold from dealer stock on a first-come, first-served basis, which tends to sharpen pencils.

With an all-electric Juke also on the way that will be sold alongside the hybrid rather than replacing it, showrooms are eager to keep the petrol-electric examples rolling out the door.

On the 1.6 Hybrid 143ps N-Connecta Auto, priced at £30,295, the biggest saving Insider Car Deals negotiated is 20.2 per cent or £6,000 off - £840 less than what the typical car buyer is offered.

Buyers can currently secure a big saving on the large Mazda CX-60 PHEV. However, Insider Car Deals warns that customers are unlikely to be offered the very best deal straight away 

3. Mazda CX-60 - 21.6% discount

Variant: 2.5 PHEV Homura Plus 5dr Auto

On the road (OTR) price: £52,895 

Typical car buyer discount price: £43,352 

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £41,491 

Mazda is being conspicuously generous on the CX-60 plug-in hybrid, with an interest-free PCP deal and an average deposit contribution of more than £4,400.

The timing is not accidental, says Pat. A 2026 model-year CX-60, featuring revised trim, new colours and additional safety and connectivity technology, is arriving in UK showrooms now, and dealers still holding stock of the outgoing version have an obvious incentive to move it.

That generosity may not last once the updated car is established. On the 2.5 PHEV Homura Plus, priced at £52,895, mystery shoppers found a discount gap of £1,861, the widest in this group.

Pat says the 23.2% discount currently available on the PHEV Volkswagen Golf reflects how hard the German brand and its dealer network are working to shift them 

 2. VW Golf (PHEV) - 23.2% discount

Variant: 1.5 TSI eHybrid Style DSG

On the road (OTR) price: £37,450

Typical car buyer discount price: £29,914

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £28,764

Volkswagen has been steadily pushing the plug-in hybrid Golf as the sensible middle ground for buyers not yet ready to go fully electric, and the level of discounting reflects how hard it is working to shift them.

On the 1.5 TSI eHybrid Style DSG, priced at £37,450, the most that can be shaved off is almost £8,700. 

But dealers are typically holding back £1,150 of achievable discount, Insider Car Deals found.

The Audi A5 Saloon PHEV is the hybrid offering the biggest discount right now: almost a quarter off the list price, equating to a saving of more than £13,000 

1. Audi A5 saloon (PHEV) - 24.6% discount

Variant: eHYBRID 299ps Quattro S Line S tronic

On the road (OTR) price: £54,155

Typical car buyer discount price: £42,357

Insider Car Deals total discount price: £40,806

The A5 Saloon plug-in hybrid carries the largest total saving of any model in this group, helped by a £10,450 deposit contribution from Audi.

The German brand is also known for adjusting its offers quickly as market conditions change, so there is no guarantee the current terms will survive into the new registration plate period.

When shopping for the e-hybrid 299PS quattro S line S tronic, priced at £54,155, the Insider Car Deals team found a maximum saving of 24.6 per cent - or close to £13,000. The discount gap it negotiated compared to the best deal offered to a typical car buyer was £1,551.

All finance terms shown are illustrative only and do not constitute an offer or financial advice. Figures are based on manufacturers’ published PCP terms and typically assume a 4-year term, 8,000-10,000 miles per year, a 15 per cent customer deposit, and any applicable manufacturer finance contribution unless otherwise stated. A Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) or final payment may be required to keep the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Always request a full written quotation from a supplying dealer before committing to purchase.

Total savings, expressed as £ and % values include dealer margin discount, any manufacturer cash saving, any applicable government EV grant, and any finance deposit contribution linked to a PCP offer.

Dealer mystery shopping carried out by Insider Car Deals on a representative sample of 57 franchised new-car dealers across the UK between 4.8.26 and 11.8.26.