NEWS

CAR Dealer Magazine has sourced official information on how the final stages of scrappage will operate. Car makers have already agreed they will take part in a 2-phase quota system, to fairly allocate remaining subsidies. Today, BIS has finally revealed the logistics of how this will all work. It points out, too, that it’s a [...]

RENAULT reckons the end of scrappage will present a residual effect offering a small market opportunity. The firm’s commercial operations director, Len Curran, has told Car Dealer Magazine he expects scrappage-type deals to continue for the next few months. They will be, Curran explained, from the brands most active in scrappage. He named Korean brands, [...]

SCRAPPAGE has helped Hyundai to such big UK gains that the maker intends to continue success. The firm today thus launches TWO post-scrappage schemes – Trade & Upgrade and Happy Returns. Trade & Upgrade is a generous scrappage-type scheme, that will give owners of cars aged between 7 and 10 years old the same £2000 [...]

MINISTERS are to allocate quotas to car makers for the final funds from the scrappage cash pot. Officials say rebates for less than 82,000 cars remains as the scheme enters its final weeks. The rationing will be based on brand popularity, said business secretary Lord Mandelson. This, he said, will ensure the scheme runs down [...]

FORD Fiesta buyers have voted the supermini best car of 2009 by buying it in greater numbers than any other new car. SMMT figures show the Fiesta is way ahead of the rest, with 117,296 sales. Bosses at Ford are celebrating further too, as the Focus came out in 2nd place overall in the new [...]

SCRAPPAGE registrations have smashed the quarter-million mark after snaring a fifth of November sales. 21.6 percent of motors registered in November were under the scrappage scheme. This means the impact of it remains huge, said SMMT chief Paul Everitt. ‘Scrappage continues to have a positive impact on vehicle registrations, contributing to the 57.6 percent increase [...]

FORD once again topped the November new car sales chart with the Fiesta easily beating the next-best. Which, as luck would have it, was also a Ford – the Focus! The November performance marks the 9th month in 2009 that the Fiesta has topped the charts. Total Fiesta sales stand at 109,420. Again, the Focus [...]

VOLVO says it will become the first premium brand to sell more new cars in 2009 than it did last year. New car sales to date stand at 31,393… with 2008’s year-long total of 31,655 in clear sight! This will also see the brand exceed its Q4 sales target of selling more than 10,000 cars… [...]

SMMT figures show November car registrations were up 57.6 percent on 2008 levels – in line with 2007 sales. This has led SMMT chief Paul Everitt to predict the market will exceed 1.975 million units. Could the 2009 UK new car market thus defy all odds and hit the magic 2 million mark? So far, [...]

MOTORPOINT remains strongly against the scrappage scheme, despite calls by the CBI to extend it again. CBI director Richard Lambert wants to see the Government inject more cash into it, in order for it to carry on beyond February 2010. Motorpoint, however, considers this ‘an outrageous abuse of taxpayers’ money.’ MD David Shelton points to [...]

FORD continues to lead the UK scrappage sales chart and has just recorded its 30,000th scrappage sale. Dave Quick bought a Ford Transit van, meaning Ford has now sold 1100 CVs through scrappage. Hendy Ford sales manager David Graham said ‘Dave Quick is one of a number of business people trading up to new Ford [...]

CAR production in the UK has continued to improve thanks to the ongoing sales-driving boost from scrappage. The year-on-year decline remains down, but by the smallest rate of the year. Year-to-date, car production is down 38 percent – but for the month of October, this figure was cut to just a 6.7 percent decline. However, [...]

HYUNDAI has listed the rare scrappage Morris Minor on eBay after Car Dealer Magazine reported the story. The car firm not only saved the Morris from the scrapper, it is also agreeing to donate all the eBay auction funds raised to Children In Need! Generous Hyundai boss Tony Whitehorn sanctioned the deal, after Chelmsford Hyundai [...]

BMW Group UK MD Tim Abbott says the Government’s scrappage scheme is ‘an opportunity missed.’ Speaking at the firm’s annual press dinner, he said BMW was ‘disappointed with its structure.’ Referring to the lack of green targets, he noted ‘there was a real opportunity to link the financial support to encourage the purchase of more [...]

CLASSIC FM listener Chris Flynn was the lucky winner of a Subaru Legacy in a competition 11 years ago. More than a decade on, it’s time to change – and this time he’s paid for his new car. What’s more, it’s a Subaru car dealer that’s finally got him to open his wallet! Derek Slack [...]

SCRAPPAGE incentives are widely being credited as the driving force behind recent new car sales rises. However, the SMMT has just released data, showing that October sales would have gone up even without scrappage The market would have risen by 3.9 percent over 2008 levels – less than the actual scrappage-boosted 31.6 percent figure, but [...]

SCRAPPAGE incentives will not only save lives, but also save the Government millions of pounds, say experts. The IAM says the scrappage scheme has helped put lots of Euro NCAP-starring new cars on the road. These have replaced old bangers, which often lack ABS, airbags, traction control or other safety measures. Which will, says IAM [...]

FORD has ALREADY sold 100,000 new Fiestas so far this year – with 2 months of 2009 still to go. October’s sales figures have seen the blue oval supermini become the first car to reach the 6-figure mark. Nigel Sharp, Ford Britain MD, said ‘notching up over 100,000 sales this year is a significant milestone [...]

NEW car sales for October were  up a huge 31.6% on 2008 levels – the biggest month of growth in 2009. Figures just released by the SMMT show that 168,942 new cars were sold in October. This takes the year-to-date total to 1,685,981 sales – meaning the year-on-year fall continues to decline. It now stands [...]

NEW car sales rises are being driven by small cars, reveals latest registration data from the SMMT. Supermini sales are up 47.9 percent in October – and city car sales are up an incredible 200 percent! This has seen 7 out of the top 10 best-sellers being superminis.  It also means there are some surprises. [...]