PEUGEOT has responded to Ford and Vauxhall's upper medium car price realignments with price cuts of up to £1,700 on 406 as Rover announced further changes and Vauxhall revealed substantial fleet support programmes across its range. The moves follow a rocky six months for all the major volume manufacturers - Ford, Rover and Vauxhall have all been hit by substantial sales increases from aggressive smaller manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Renault and Toyota.

Peugeot has realigned prices across the 406 range to keep its best-selling upper medium contender competitive in an increasingly cut-throat market. Price cuts of up to £340 on 2.0 LX models, giving them price parity with 1.8 LX models, and £1,700 on the V6 GLX launched just a month ago, follow similar action by Ford and Vauxhall.

The offer also applies to estate versions, with prices falling by a similar amount, and the rest of the V6 range. Peugeot, Ford and Vauxhall's action reflects the intense competition in the upper medium sector as the new Volkswagen Passat at last becomes available in reasonable volumes.