Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Scrappage scheme restricted? (UK)


The small print of the Government’s scrappage scheme for new car sales could limit the £2,000 incentive to cars with a delivery time of less than 3months, a rule that could stop dozens of models from benefiting. Officials at the dealer body, the RMIF, will raise these concerns at a meeting with the government tomorrow, when the working details of the scheme will be hammered out.

“We think the key is flexibility because it will be an issue for some cars,” said an RMIF spokesman. “We are trying to make sure the scheme works.”

Market leader, Ford said some models, like the new Focus RS, would be affected if a three-month delivery limit was specified. One practical problem is that factories have pruned production so hard that a surge in demand has put special-order cars onto three-month or more delivery times.

Despite these uncertainties, dealers have reported a huge increase in enquiries for new cars. Hyundai is quoting a 400% rise, while traffic on Ford’s website in the four days after last month’s Budget equalled a normal month.

Click here to see how the new scheme works and who's part of it.

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