Press Report : Jaguar Land Rover benefits from Scrappage Scheme

Birmingham Post, 7th July, 2009

Jaguar Land Rover has emerged as a beneficiary of the Government’s car Scrappage Scheme, figures showed yesterday.

The perception has been that only volume manufacturers would gain sales from the ‘bangers for cash” incentive which offers a £2,000 discount to owners of cars ten years old or more who trade them in for new models and, according to a report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), that is largely the case.

Out of the 29,796 new cars sold under the scheme since it came into force in May, the bulk of the orders have been for small cars made by Ford (4,299 units) and Hyundai (4,664). However, premium manufacturers such as Jaguar and Land Rover, with 66 registrations between them, are also benefiting. BMW has gained 273 sales under the scrappage scheme and its German rival Mercedes has put on 144.

The trickle-down effect to the premium sector has come as a ‘pleasant surprise”, the SMMT said yesterday. ‘We envisaged that the Scrappage Scheme would add to sales of lower-value, smaller-engined cars but it now seems that it is restoring consumer confidence generally,” a spokesman added.

We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the Scrappage Scheme translate into new vehicle registrations. It is working well and has encouraged a lot more people back into showrooms. The SMMT expects the pace of improvement to increase in the coming months but we can already see the industry making steady progress on the road to recovery.” Paul Everitt, Chief Executive, SMMT

The scheme, the cost of which is split equally between the Government and manufacturers, accounted for about ten per cent of the market in June and was credited yesterday for putting the brake on the slump in new car registrations. They fell by 15.7 per cent to 176,264 units but the decline was the smallest since July 2008.

The figure was about 15 per cent better than the SMMT’s forecast of about 153,000 units but it still left sales over the first half of 2009 nearly 26 per cent down at 924,955. Significantly, private sales – as opposed to company or fleet orders – rose (by four per cent) for the first time since November 2007.

‘We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the Scrappage Scheme translate into new vehicle registrations,” SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt said. ‘It is working well and has encouraged a lot more people back into showrooms. The SMMT expects the pace of improvement to increase in the coming months but we can already see the industry making steady progress on the road to recovery.”

[Source: Birmingham Post]

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Clive Goldthorp

Clive claims that his interest in the BMC>MG story dates back to his childhood in the 1960s when the family’s garage premises were leased to a tenant with an Austin agency. However, back in the 1920s and 1930s, his grandmother was one of the country’s first female Garage Proprietors so cars probably run in his genes!

He owned an 06/06 MG TF 135 and then a 15/64 MG3 Style for much of the time he has been associated with AROnline - more recently, though, he has re-kindled a long-standing Alfa Romeo affair with an 18/68 Giulia Veloce 280...

Clive, who was AROnline’s News Editor for nearly four years, stood down from that role in order to devote more time to various Motor Racing and other projects, but remains active behind the scenes sub-editing content on a regular basis.

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