The campaign to introduce a scrappage scheme in the UK instigated by the likes of the AA and RMIF, is receiving the backing of ministers and looks set to be introduced.
According to the Daily Mail, sources at the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), said ministers are having a change of heart about introducing a scrappage scheme after initially being sceptical about the idea.
If the scheme gets the go-ahead, motorists could be offered up to £2,500 of taxpayers’ money towards the purchase a new car when they scrap an old one. Ministers are believed to backing the idea as part of plans to kickstart the motor industry.
The success of a similar scheme in Germany has provoked the UK government to rethink its intial hostile position. Following the introduction of the €2500 incentive to scrap an existing vehicle over nine years of age in Germany, car sales have risen 21 per cent in February contrasted by a decline in car sales in the UK of 21.9 per cent.
Unlike the German scheme which was introduced in January, it is likely a UK equivalent would be tied to fuel-efficient vehicles. The government may well insist that a handout would have to used for the purchase of a greener car by setting a CO2 limit. This could help deflect criticism from environmental groups who say that the German scheme does nothing to prevent people using the money to purchase a more polluting vehicle than their old vehicle.
Carmakers have been lobbying for months for the UK to follow suit and suggested an incentive of around £2,000. A figure has yet to be agreed and nothing has yet been announced, one Whitehall source told the Daily Mail;
“We’re not yet in a position to make an official announcement. But the mood music is very positive.”
Read the full article here: Daily Mail.
