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Government's "cash for bangers" scrappage scheme

A combination of the Government's "cash for bangers" scrappage scheme and a rush to beat next year's 2.5 per cent VAT increase combined to give car makers another buoyant month.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders the scrappage scheme – in which anyone trading a 10 year old car gets a £2,000 subsidy towards a new model – accounted for a fifth of sales in October.
This seems to have been confirmed by the figures, which showed that households accounted for more than half of cars sold – at least 10 per cent more than in a normal month.
The Ford Fiesta continued to be Britain's best-selling car and small models appear to have dominated sales, reflecting a trend towards those with lower running costs.
October was the fourth month in succession in which sales rose compared to the same period in 2008. The increase was rise was the biggest recorded by the industry since 1999.
"Scrappage is still having an impact as one would expect," said Mike Allen, a motor industry analyst with the stockbrokers, Panmure Gordon. "But with January's VAT increase having been confirmed, people are buying a car now to save paying the extra tax.
"Given the cost of more luxurious models, it makes sense to bring the purchase forward, before the price of the car goes up."
The RAC gave a cautious welcome to the latest car sales statistics. "It's been a better couple of days of news for the UK car industry. These figures show why it was important to extend the car scrappage, that said, the 31% increase is against the very dark days of last October's figures."
It was the latest piece of much-needed good news for the industry and came within days of General Motors ditching plans to sell of a majority share in its European Vauxhall-Opel arm, reflecting greater confidence among car makers.
But Garel Rhys, emeritus professor at Cardiff Business School and one of Britain's leading authorities on the motor industry, suggested that such optimism could be premature.
"But for scrappage, we would be on course to sell only 1.6 million cars this year, which would be a massive drop on the 2.1 million sold in 2008.
"People are wanting to shout from the rooftops that everything is fine in the car industry, clearly it is not,"

October 2009 - Top ten best selling cars

New car sales in Britain soared in October as buyers continued to take advantage of the Government's "cash for bangers" car scrappage scheme. These were the the top-selling models in October 2009, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Ford Fiesta topped the list of bestselling cars in October, boosted by the government's car scrappage scheme.

1. Ford Fiesta

2. Vauxhall Astra

3. Ford Focus

4. Vauxhall Corsa 5.

Volkswagen Golf

6. Peugeot 207

7. Renault Clio

8. Hyundai i10

9. Mini

10. Fiat 500

P1 eco-sports car

It's the electric dream that could soon become a reality. This is the P1-E – a sports car that can do 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds without emitting any carbon dioxide at all. The work of ex-McLaren F1 designer Jim Dowle, the P1-E is powered by a combination of lithium-ion batteries and twin electric motors. Although it's still on the drawing board at the moment, Dowle predicts that as well as offering storming acceleration, the four-wheel drive machine will be able to cover 230 miles before it needs to be re-charged. Weighing in at just 1,055kg, the P1-E features gullwing doors and a stunning bodyshell, while the batteries and motors are mounted as low down in the chassis as possible. Together with wishbone suspension front and rear, the P1-E is said to have brilliant handling. The first working prototype is expected to be revealed before the end of 2009. Sales could kick off in 2010 with a projected price tag of £55,000. cars for sale