'Jedward' through again while scrappage scheme has proved a success. Fleet Voice

By Richard Lawton 04 November 2009

Fleet Voice Column: Wednesday 4, November 2009 With the UK public in the grip of the reality TV contest, the X-Factor, it is true to say that the most controversial pairing are Irish twins John and Edward Grimes. X Factor judge Simon Cowell has already said on air that he is praying Irish twins John and Edward Grimes do not win the ITV talent show. But they haven’t just scraped through, the twins, ‘affectionately’ known in the media as Jedward, haven’t even been in the bottom two, which means the judges have not been able to vote them out. The latest contestant elimated by the public, was Student Rachel Adedeji. She battled it out in the sing-off with 17-year-old Lloyd Daniels. The judges could not decide and therefore the contestant with the lowest votes from the public was Adedeji, and she was duly eliminated from the show. Just like  ‘Jedward’, the scrappage scheme in the UK has proved to be a hit with the UK public. The public have voted on their phones with the X-Factor, while businesses and privateers have voted with their cheque books, as the scrappage scheme has definitely been a success and revitalised the UK market when it was so badly needed. With the UK Government telling all of us to go green, the car industry can hold its head up high and say we are greener than ever before. For all you fleet managers that have taken advantage of the scheme, you can be proud of what you have achieved. You have helped to get the national average of CO2 for all new cars registered, down to 132.1g/km. This was 10.9% below the average of all new cars registered between May and September, of 148.2g/km. This has been largely helped with buying wisely, you have been taking heed of tax brackets, as 72.7% of cars bought under the scrappage scheme were classified in the Mini or Supermini segments. If you get the abacus out you will realise that your greener fleets UK wide are likely to save some 3.6m tonnes of CO2. You should be getting another pat on the back, by scrapping your old vehicles, you have drastically improved the safety of your fleet as your new vehicles now have higher EuroNCAP ratings, more safety technology as standard and improved security features. The Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) has forecast that the new car market should end 2009 at 1.928m units, that is a massive 250,000 units above its pre-scrappage forecast, but you still need to take into account that this is still well below the 2.47m unit pre-recession five year average. The UK car industry is definitely taking a turn for the better but there is still a lot of room for improvement. So just like John and Edward Grimes (or ‘Jedward’ as they have become known) the UK is believing in itself, ‘Jedward’ has fought critical comments just like the automotive sector. John and Edward Grimes have been told they cannot sing, the car-makers were told that the scrappage scheme would not work. If people want something badly enough or are prepared to work at it, then they will get their rewards. I am not for one instant saying ‘Jedward’ deserve to win a singing contest but they are fighters and so is the car industry and that is why our colleagues will ride out this storm with the aid of the scrappage scheme. The UK scrappage scheme has been very successful for a number of reasons. Here are the facts:

• Over 181,092 new vehicles had been registered under the scrappage scheme by the end of September. There is an order bank of a further 80,000 vehicles.
• Government and industry have set aside £800 million to support up to 400,000 vehicles going through the scheme.
• The scrappage scheme is largely self-funding for government with the 15% VAT paid on a car bought for £7,650 covering the £1,000 government contribution.

Categories: Fleet news , smmt , Fleet Voice

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