Scrappage Scheme Boosts Car Sales By A Third

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Thu, 19 Nov 2009

New car sales in October increased by more than 30 per cent year-on-year, thanks largely to the £100m extension of the government’s vehicle scrappage scheme .

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 168,942 new cars were registered last month, an increase of 31.6 per cent compared with figures for the same period last year and this year’s largest monthly increase in registrations .

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said the popular scrappage scheme accounted for over 20 per cent of all new cars sold in October, with the Ford Fiesta proving the most popular buy with 8,182 units sold.

"We have seen additional demand created by the extension of the scrappage scheme and customers wanting to avoid the VAT increase planned for January," he commented.

"Encouragingly, there has also been an increase in demand in the fleet and business sectors, which will be critical in sustaining recovery next year."

Everitt added that private demand for new cars also rose by some 86 per cent last month.

But despite the fourth consecutive monthly rise, overall new car registrations for the year to November were still 12.3 per cent down on 2008 levels at to 1,685,981 units, and end-of-year figures are estimated to fall below last year's sales by some 200,000 units.