The Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) has called on the government to do more to support the British car industry.
SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said scrappage had been a welcome boost to the flagging industry, but he hoped the government’s pre-budget report would reveal further ways it intended to help the industry long term.
“Scrappage continues to have a positive impact on vehicle registrations, contributing to the 57.6 per cent increase in November’s registrations,” he said. “It has helped to generate consumer confidence and SMMT urges government to sustain the recovery and support the long-term future of the motor industry through its pre-budget report.”
His comments follow the SMMT’s announcement that more than 250,000 vehicles had now been sold under scrappage.
In November, more than one in five cars sold was under scrappage. Since it was introduced in May, new car sales have increased every month since July halting 15 months of consecutive decline. The scheme is expected to run out in February.
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Re: SMMT: industry needs support
very good thanks
Re: SMMT: industry needs support
Absolutely. This is because the government introduced the scrappage scheme as a knee-jerk reaction to what was going on at the time without thinking it through (or thinking about it at all).
I posted a response regarding electric vehicles and emissions, highlighting the unfairness of the governments decision to re-band the car tax bandings for road tax and in particular, how it was made retrospective. This denied motorists the opportunity to decide whether they wanted to buy a car that requires a £400 per year tax disc. You've bought your car that requires £210 and now we're charging you £400 - too bad, was the governments attitude. With scrappage, they have also made it quite unfair. Only people with vehicles over a certain age qualify - what about everyone else. Oh, that's right - penalise them as their cars are too "new". What about someone driving an 8 year old Fiesta - they don't qualify either. What a disgrace the scrappage scheme is - I can't wait until it's over.
Re: SMMT: industry needs support
I totally agree but it's not just the Uk construction industry that needs targeting, there needs to be more incentive for Uk engineering as well.
People seem to think all of the UK engineering is tied into the car industry and is therefore benefiting from the scrappage scheme but it's not, and it's struggling to keep going with no help from the government what so ever. This nation used to rule the world when it came to engineering, we were the best of the best, but now it's a shell of what it once was, due to a lack of proper support from successive governments.
A big problem with the scrappage scheme is that it has encouraged alot of foreign imports into the country helping other economies more than our own, whilst at the same time hampering the secondhand car market, which again is costing our economy.
And why can the motor industry not come up with it's own incentives and better deals to encourage car sales?. I've just been reading about when the original mini was introduced and Ford worked out that it was being sold at a loss, just to get cars on the streets!. I'm not saying this is the way to go, it's business suicide, but there are things the manufacturers could do, without relying on the Taxpayers.