PETALING JAYA: Car owners hoping for the government to reinstate the “cash-for-clunkers” rebate scheme will be disappointed to know that a decision has yet to be made.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung told The Malay Mail that "the government still hasn't decided whether to continue with the scheme".
"I cannot say for sure if it will," he said.
Chor's non-committal response contradicted his own statement recently that he had not discounted the possibility of the rebate scheme being reinstated.
In our report on Nov 17, Chor had said: "For now, I cannot confirm whether this may happen as it all depends on the government. But we will take into consideration the people’s response as well as feedback from relevant parties.”
While the scheme was a one-off exercuse in the economic stimulus package announced last March 10, many motorists had hoped it would be reinstated to help reduce the number of old vehicles on the road.
Such vehicles aren't environmentally-friendly, especially if they're not well maintained, and there are fears that worn-out parts could also contribute to accidents.
The RM5,000 rebate scheme for owners to trade in their old Proton or Perodua cars saw the disbursement of 31,046 rebate vouchers and had also been a boon to help people in the lower income group seeking to exchange their vehicles for newer models.
The chance of this scheme being reinstated does not look good as a similar American programme to help boost car sales in the United States had also ended, with no plan to revive it as the economic situation there has improved.
On Nov 12, The Malay Mail had reported that the RM5,000 rebate scheme for car owners to trade in their old Proton or Perodua cars had ended as the scheme had run out of money. The programme was initially slated to end in December.
According to Proton dealers and customers, the national car maker had stopped the exchange programme after they had used up all RM60 million that the government had allocated for the scheme.
FLASHBACK: Our report on Nov 17 last year
Last Thursday, The Malay Mail Hotline had quoted a spokesman for Proton Holdings Bhd confirming that its Xchange Programme had been discontinued as it had run out of funds. Under the Xchange Programme, a RM5,000 discount was given to owners who traded in cars that were at least 10 years old to buy new models.
However, Proton has come up with a special incentive scheme for those unable to take part in the programme.
The national car maker will assist those who want to sell their old cars by helping them make arrangements with second-hand car dealers.
The new scheme is applicable for purchases of Proton cars registered by Jan 31 this year.
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