Jul 6 2009 Steve Hughes
Scrappage success kick-starts new car sales
THE scrappage scheme is being hailed a huge success, with almost 50,000 older cars traded in against new ones as buyers take advantage of many of the most generous discounts ever offered.
In addition to the Government's contribution of £1,000, matched by a dealer discount of a further £1,000, some cars are attracting additional price cuts of up to £6,000 or more.
The UK's biggest seller, Ford, says that more than 12,000 new cars have been sold under the scrappage scheme so far, amounting to one in five of every new car bearing the Blue Oval badge since the scheme was introduced in March.
Ten million motorists are eligible to take advantage of the initiative and the only danger now is that the Government will run out of money before the scheme's intended end date next March.
It is a joint initiative between the Government and car makers to kick-start the UK motors' market whilst getting rid of millions of high-polluting old bangers in the process.
Whilst the glitzy publicity usually focuses on shiny new cars, the fact is that almost ten million of us drive vehicles that are over ten years old and now they are suddenly worth their weight in gold.
The idea was to encourage nervous punters to take the plunge after holding back because of the recession, whilst cleaning-up the environment in the process - and it has exceeded all expectations.
The Government's contribution to the scheme amounts to £300 million and almost 40 manufacturers have signed-up for it.
They include Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chevrolet, Citroen, Daihatsu, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, MG, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Perodua, Peugeot, Porsche, Proton, Renault, Rolls-Royce, Saab, SEAT, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo.
The scheme will operate until March 2010 or until the government funding has been exhausted in a bid to protect the 27 car and van manufacturers currently operating in the UK.
They produce 1.75 million cars and commercial vehicles every year with a combined turnover of £50 billion, whilst employing 800,000 people directly and many more in the supply and retail chains.
Companies such as Nissan are ideally placed to benefit from the scrappage scheme, with models such as the Sunderland-built Micra now being sold for as little as £5,995 under the scheme.
The manufacturer, which employs 3,900 at its North East plant with a further 5,000 within its dealer network is extending the scheme to include cars between eight and ten-years-old for anyone choosing one of its British-built range, which comprises the Micra, Note, Qashqai and Qashqai+2.
The same applies to Toyota at Burnaston and Honda at Swindon where the recent resumption of production is being attributed in no small part to the success of the scrappage scheme that has stimulated sales of models such as the British-made Civic.
Many companies are making massive reductions on top of the scrappage discounts, such as Volvo, which is reducing the price of its XC90 by up to £6,840, whilst Renault has lopped £3,500 off the price of its small Clio model, which now costs just £6,495.
It is possible to buy a new Hyundai i10 supermini for just £4,995 and the larger Hyundai i20 for £5,995.
A Kia Picanto is even cheaper at £4,195 and is available for just a tenner a week on finance.
The £2000 Government scrappage allowance towards a new car or commercial vehicle is offered on condition that the traded-in vehicle has been registered on or before September 1999 and has been registered in the name of the new car buyer for at least a year. The registration document must also show the current name and address of the new car buyer. A valid MOT as well as current road tax and insurance must also be presented to the dealer.
A certificate of destruction will be issued against every vehicle scrapped under this programme.
The offer applies to new vehicles registered before March 2010 unless the Government's allocated budget for the scheme of 300,000 vehicles runs out sooner - which is looking increasingly likely to happen.
Click
No comments:
Post a Comment