The car scrappage scheme has helped to boost new car sales
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has revealed figures showing that new car registrations sales have increased by 47 per cent year on year, for the seven months to the end of July 2010.
New vehicles were sales reached 74,111 in the period to July 31st, 16,711 more than the whole total of cars sold in 2009.
Director General of SIMI, Alan Nolan, said, “We would attribute about 8,500 of those sales to the government scrappage scheme. In 2009, even those with secure jobs may have thought it was not ‘appropriate’ to buy a car. The scrappage scheme kick started sales and told people it was okay to buy a new car.”
It is estimated that up to now in 2010, the Government has brought in an extra €100 million through vehicle registration tax and VAT thanks to the scrappage scheme. The scrappage scheme introduced by the Government saw a €1,500 reduction in the cost of vehicle registration tax (VRT) on the purchase of a new low-emission car when a used vehicle was traded in.
The best selling model so far in 2010 was revealed as the Ford Focus according to the SIMI, with sales of diesel cars also up by 8 per cent. This was thought to be down to their cheaper tax costs and lower CO2 emissions.
The SIMI also said that up to 100 garages were forced to close during 2009 with the loss of an estimated 10,000 jobs in the sector. An SIMI spokesperson said that while there were now signs of recovery, it was still only a ‘fragile recovery’.
Despite this small recovery, the Department of Finance said the scrappage scheme might not be extended after its one-year period after its introduction on January 1st 200. When pressed on the matter if the scheme would continue past 12 months, a department spokesperson revealed that, “There are no plans yet. It will be considered in the context of the annual budget.”
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