NISSAN owned up to playing a waiting game over the cost of new cars in Britain when it finally announced wide-ranging reductions of up to 13.2% this week.

But the Japanese company claimed that being the last volume manufacturer to respond to Government and consumer pressure over pricing had given it a significant advantage in the showrooms.

'Our tactic of holding back to the last moment has paid dividends because we now have the strongest value line-up on offer in the business market. We're confident our sales will benefit,' said fleet sales director Kevin McNally.

As prices of 110 Nissan Motor GB models were cut to achieve savings of up to £2,400, McNally said: 'We could have moved earlier, but we decided to use the situation to take the pricing initiative. Waiting to see how far our competitors moved has given us a big advantage.

'By not making a hasty announcement, we've been able to study all the adjustments to make sure we are bang on with our positioning against the other major fleet players.'

From January 1, every Nissan except the Maxima QX will be an average 7% cheaper - prices of the flagship range were cut by up to £4,300 in October.