The Car Hub

Today the 4th. February it has been announced by the government that the car scrappage scheme will be extended for the second time to the end of March, this is due to the last tranche of the £400 million set aside for the scheme not being taken up by buyers.
Three months ago The Car Hub team had once again clearly stated that they continued to oppose the government scrappage scheme as it brought little benefit to the UK.
One question to ask is – why hasn’t all this money on offer been grabbed by buyers, simple answer in 2 parts = a)  manufacturers, who are mainly foreign, are continuing to offer their own attractive discounts and, b) the 2.5% VAT has been added back on this year.
The government made great play of the increased sales made by users of the scheme last December but business has flattened out following that surge.
Ever since the beginning of this scheme our team have always maintained that it provides no support for the second hand motor trade, no support for the MOT garages who consequently have less business because of a reduced number of vehicles and also no support for the “used parts” market which will have less vehicles requiring parts.
The above is contrary to what Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary has stated, and in support of our argument is the statement that the scheme “has proved a big hit for Hyundai and Kia in particular who have seen a huge sales boost”, which means more imported cars and a worsening trade balance for this country.
At The Car Hub we have always preferred a scheme that would offer either zero or a low percentage interest for the purchase of both new and second hand cars which could provide all round support for the whole motor industry and all at less cost than this scrappage scheme.
www.thecarhub.net