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UK recently began offering cash incentives to buyers of new cars who scrap their old model, a program which has already proved very popular in other parts of Europe as a way to help the struggling auto sector.
The government and car manufacturers are sharing the cost of giving a discount of $3,000 to motorists who scrap an old car or van when buying a new one.
The British government has announced in its 2009 budget the introduction of a car scrap scheme, in an effort to boost the country’s ailing car industry.
The success story in other European countries has demonstrated the effectiveness of such an incentive, which aims to remove polluting vehicles from the road and simulate new car sales at the same time.
People in Britain, especially those in the motor trade, have broadly welcomed the scheme.
However, there ate concerns that the plan does not go far enough and may not deliver expected benefits, both economically and ecologically.
Car scrap incentives have been rolled out in many European countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal, to encourage motorists to dispose of older vehicles and buy new ones. In Germany, the plan has been very successful.
New car registrations rose by 30 percent in February and orders increased by 70%, according to the European Automobile Manufactures’ association. In March, Germany reported a 40 percent rise in new car sales, but in Britain sales fell by 30%.
The scheme also functions well in France. Around 20 percent of all cars sold in January were purchased as part of such an initiative. And in Portugal, 16 percent of car sales during 2008 were fuelled by its scrap scheme. Britain’s scheme, which will come into effect in May, is designed to last only 10 months, and any impact on the car industry may be short lived. However, it has gained support from motoring organizations and car markers.
Car sales in Germany, Europe’s biggest car market, jumped 40 per cent in March, fuelled by government incentives for motorists to scrap their old cars and buy new ones.
World car markets have been hit by large slumps in demand over the past several months.
Some European markets have shown flickers of life, boosted by scrap schemes.
Germany is offering €2,500 for drivers who have cars that are over nine years old to scrap them and buy new ones.
The scheme is to be extended until the end of the year after fears that the program would run out of cash by the end of this month because it has proved so popular.
In Germany, 401,000 new cars were bought in March.
Used vehicles, particularly imported from the UK, have seen a surge lately in Malta – a trend triggered by the weakened pound and the new favorable tax regime.
The number of vehicles registered the first quarter of this year grew by over 30 per same period last year.
In just three months, 4,264 vehicles were registered compared to 3,276 between January and March last year, an Increase of over 300 cars a month. The data, provided by the National Statistics Office, Shows that the lion’s share of the increase consisted in imported used vehicles, which saw a surge during this period. Similarly, the number of used imported commercial vehicles increased by some 13 per cent and new vehicles in the same category plunged by 80 percent.
Motorists will be offered subsidies of up to £ 5,000 to encourage them to buy electric or plug-in hybrid cars under plans announced by the UK government. It is part of the government’s £250m plan to promote low carbon transport over the next five years.
But ministers do not expect eligible cars to hit the showrooms until 2011.
However, the strategy includes plans to provide £20m for charging points and other necessary infrastructure.
At present they are very limited creating a chicken and egg situation with potential electric car purchasers. After all you wouldn’t buy an electric car if you couldn’t find anywhere to charge it would you?
