Could this be the start of a price war? Hot on the heels of Ford’s decision to cut car list prices by an average of 11% comes a move by Honda. The company has trimmed prices for its Jazz to put the amount asked for its cheapest Jazz supermini at £9995 – meaning that it exactly matches the new, cheaper list price for Ford’s entry-model Fiesta.

Meanwhile the cheapest Civic , the 1.4 S three-door, comes in at £14,995 – beating Ford’s Focus by £1500. And the entry-model Insight is now £14,995, making it the lowest-cost new car using petrol-electric hybrid power.

Honda bolsters its offers by including three years’ road tax and servicing within the price for selected models.