Scrappage Scheme Helps New Car Sales Figures in March
New car sales in March rose by 26.6% over the March 2009 figures thanks mainly to the UK car scrappage scheme. Figures supplied by the Society of Motor Traders and Manufacturers released Thursday showed 397,383 new cars were registered in March with the scrappage scheme accounting for 12.2% of registrations.
“The UK motor industry has enjoyed a better than anticipated first quarter of 2010,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
“A strong March performance was underpinned by the scrappage incentive and improving demand in the fleet sector,” he added.
“The coming months will remain challenging and headline registration numbers are expected to dip, but underlying demand will continue to improve slowly.”
The scrappage scheme, which finished at the end of March, offered buyers a £2,000 discount off the list price of new vehicles with £1,000 from the government and £1,000 from the car manufacturer. The scheme helped 400,000 UK motorists buy a discounted new vehicle while helping car manufacturers and dealers during the worst recession in decades.