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Pay-to-scrap 'has helped UK'
20 March 2009
Pay-to-scrap schemes have already benefitted UK manufacturing, according to a source at Nissan.
The UK government is currently mulling over proposals to introduce a pay-to-scrap scheme, under which owners of cars nine years old or over would get £2000 off a new or nearly-new car.
Similar schemes have already been introduced in Germany, France and Spain, and Italy has announced it will introduce a similar incentive.
However, one criticism of such a scheme in the UK is that it would benefit car manufacturers based outside the country.
However, a Nissan source pointed out that its Sunderland plant manufactures the Micra, Micra CC, Note, Qashqai and Qashqai+2, with many of these cars exported to mainland Europe.
As much as 80 per cent of Notes and Micras are exported to the continent.
However, the source would not forecast significantly increased production at Sunderland if the scheme went ahead in the UK.
"Every little helps," he said. "But the main benefit would be to morale."
In total, 86 per cent of cars manufactured in the UK are exported.
Ed Keohane
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