Darling's half-hearted Scrappage Scheme has managed to produce 60,000 sales to 7th June - Just like that!
I know, we’ve moaned about the Scrappage Scheme in the UK. It’s poorly drafted, shoddily implemented and achieves nothing the savvy buyer couldn’t already have done for themselves. But it does help the more cautious buyer, and has seen a boost in sales for budget car makers.
And that is where we have to concede the scheme does work – at the lower end. Hyundai, for example, are shifting a lot of cars under the Scrappage Scheme. But we still think it disingenuous – if not downright dishonest – for the Government to announce the Scrappage incentive at £2,000 and then shove half of that on to the car manufacturer at the last minute.
But, despite sales figures for May failing to shine despite the Scrappage Scheme launch, figures just released seem to indicate that the scheme is starting to have an impact.
Government figures are showing that Scrappage sales to 7th June (from the start of the scheme at the end of April) were 60,000. Which is a lot of cars. So we can’t argue that the scheme is a failure, but with a £300 million cap on the Scrappage Scheme it will – at this rate of sales – run out of money before the end of the year.
Lord ‘Mandy’ is claiming the scheme a big success. Well, he would wouldn’t he? But it’s a shame to think how much more could have been done if the scheme had been properly drafted and implemented, and there had been Government action to supply loans to buyers under sensible underwriting criteria from one of the Banks we (the taxpayer) now owns.
But in a time of crisis for the motor industry, every little helps.
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