No hangover after scrappage party?

Thursday, March 04, 2010

SMMT thinks sales boost to carry on
Even when scrappage ends

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The car industry will survive the end of the scrappage scheme without suffering an immediate hangover, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Releasing more encouraging registration figures for February today, the SMMT says the boost provided by the scheme will continue after March when the scheme ends..

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said, ‘Scrappage has generated eight consecutive months of growth in the new car market, and we expect its benefits to stretch beyond the scheme’s closure.

‘Strengthening business and consumer confidence remains the priority. Improved access to affordable credit are essential elements in sustaining recovery in the new car market.’

So far this year, scrappage has helped to increase sales by 28.7% compared with the first two months of 2009, with 214,165 registrations since the beginning of the year.

The Fiesta continues as the top seller with 3236 sold in February and 12,121 so far this year. Supermins and small family cars dominate the list of top 10 best sellers – the largest car is the 10th-placed BMW 3 Series, with 3580 sold this year.

Forget hangovers
However, Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche thinks the wider economic outlook is less certain than UK car sales. Talking to the Financial Times about the removal of economic stimulus packages, Zetsche said: ‘It is like cold turkey. But the world needs to stop taking the drugs and I guess we'll see whether it can do that.’