Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Delay higher VED to safeguard recovery, say car makers

Car makers want the Government to delay introducing the new higher VED rates due next month as the industry comes out of the scrappage incentive.

British owners have put in almost 330,000 vehicles for scrappage incentives between May and February, about 20pc of new cars over the period.
The SMMT says 324,991 new cars were registered through the scrappage scheme by the end of February and the incentive accounted for 19.6pc of all new car registrations in the month.
LCV registrations total 5,460 units between May to February, 3.8pc of the total LCV market.
Average CO2 emissions of a car bought through the scheme were 132.7g/km, 9.9pc below the overall new car market average and 27.0pc below a scrapped car’s figure.
Commenting on the data, SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said, “The scrappage scheme ends this month and has provided a vital stimulus during a difficult period. The scheme has lifted the market from the lows of early 2009, with around 330,000 registrations by the end of February.  Industry must now work to sustain this momentum and is urging government to postpone the introduction of the first year rate of VED and avoid dampening demand while the economic recovery remains fragile.”
Where foreign governments have ended the scrappage incentive, new car sales have collapsed and German dealers have seen a 30pc decline since their programme ended last autumn.
In the UK, the SMMT expects the carefully managed rundown of the scrappage scheme means the remaining funds should run out this month, but the system allows for delivery of new vehicles up to four months after, taking registrations as a result of scrappage into July.
It is thought a further 70,000 scrappage incentive sales will be made in March in Britain, but these equivalent new car and van registrations will be spread over successive months.
Average new car CO2 emissions fell by their biggest ever margin last year with the impact of recession and the Scrappage Incentive Scheme boosting the continued influence of technological advances made by vehicle manufacturers, according to the annual New Car CO2 Report released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

New car sales collapsed by 30pc in Germany last month as fallout continued over the end of scrappage incentives.
Wary car buyers were holding onto their money rather than buying new cars, reports J D Power and Associates in its monthly look at European registrations.
Car sales grew 4.4pc to 943,500 units in western Europe as strong demand in France, Italy, Spain and the U.K. offset a 30pc drop in the German market, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
It says year-over-year sales rose 18pc to 179,900 in France, 20pc to 200,600 in Italy, 47pc to 91,300 in Spain and 26pc to 68,700 in the U.K as the markets benefited from current or just-expiring government-sponsored scrappage incentives.
Europe’s largest market in Germany saw sales plunge 30pc to 194,800 units and J.D. Power forecasts full-year sales in western European will decline by nearly 10pc to 12.3 million units.
 
The average new car sold in the UK in 2009 emitted just 149.5g/km of CO2, down 5.4% on the 2008 figure and 21.2% better than the 1997 base level.
The rate of reduction was the best on record, three times the average rate achieved since data was first measured in 1997.