NEWS

SCRAPPAGE deals are running dry for many car makers with some insiders predicting they will close order books today.
Many big brands are down to their final initial allocations under the Government’s official Exit Strategy scheme.
Unless and until further allocations are dished out for the the last dregs of the scrappage fund pot, the much-heralded [...]

CO2 emissions fell by the largest ever amount in 2009 thanks to the effects of the scrappage scheme.

The average new car emitted 149.5g/km CO2 – 21.2 percent less than in 1997. Furthermore, the average car sold under the scrappage scheme emitted just 133.3g/km, 26.8 percent less CO2 than the average scrapped car.
It’s also 5.4 percent [...]

BY NOW we all know how scrappage works; we take our ‘useless’, rusty old banger in and get £2,000 off a shiny, clean, brand new motor.
At least that’s how it’s meant to work, but some people have a very different idea of what constitutes an ‘old banger’.
Having spoken to dealers in the North East [...]

STRONG February new car sales have been boosted by the extension to the scrappage scheme say dealers.
The RMIF says the decision to extend the scheme into March, coupled with last year’s extra funds for the scheme, means sustained demand has benefited showroom traffic.
Scrappage sales accounted for more than 19 percent of sales in February, with [...]

SALES figures for February have been released and continue to show a scrappage scheme boost.
The market rose by 26.4 percent compared to 2009, with 68,686 new car sales.
Scrappage accounted for 19.6 percent - making February the 8th consecutive month of new car sales growth, said SMMT chief Paul Everitt.
As much of the increase is attributable [...]

CAR dealers will face a severe shortage of used car stock in 2010 due to plunging new car sales.
Supplies of 1- and 2-year-old cars are to face a ‘major reduction’.
Scrappage has compounded the problem further, warns Glass’s Guide editor Adrian Rushmore  - 300k new car sales were generated from it in 2009, but these buyers [...]

DANGEROUS cars that have escaped scrappage are illegally managing to return onto the UK’s roads.
Bluecycle reports that 1 MILLION cars a year are escaping scrappage because there are not enough resources to govern their destruction.
This means dodgy scrapyards are ‘bringing cars back from the dead’, at the expense of official car dismantlers.
It’s why Bluecycle [...]

GOVERNMENT officials have revealed details of a green car grant to incentivise low-carbon cars.
From January 2011, car buyers can get up to £5k towards buying a green new motor.
It is called Plug-in Car Grant and will be offered by car dealers against the price of eligible electric cars such as the Nissan LEAF.
Significantly, it ALSO [...]

SCRAPPAGE key car maker players have given Car Dealer Magazine their thoughts on the Exit Phase scheme.

Ford, Kia and Toyota have all offered us their views.
And it is Kia that is most outspoken! ‘KMUK is somewhat disappointed,’ said a spokesman, ‘that the scrappage scheme exit plan does not properly reflect the clear view of scrappage [...]

THE end of the scrappage scheme doesn’t have to mean the end of the world, car dealers have told us.
We’ve been out on the road in Darlington, County Durham, quizzing dealerships about the end of the scheme and were surprised at just how positive dealers were.
On the day the last of the scrappage scheme funds [...]