UK scrappage scheme turns out encouraging figures

The new car scrappage scheme has notched up 378,978 sales, since its introduction in May 2009.

The scheme represented 12.2% of all new car registrations in March and 3.2% of the total van market in the same month.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: “Final scrappage orders had to be placed by the end of March and already almost 380,000 vehicles have been registered out of the 400,000 available.”

Since starting, the scheme has accounted for 18.7% of total new car sales, with average CO2 emissions standing at 132.9g/km, 27.1% below a scrapped car’s figure.

Supermini models were favoured, 58.5% of all cars bought through scrappage fitting this category.

Everitt continued: “The scheme has provided a hugely important stimulus to the market and leaves the industry in far better health than we saw in pre-scrappage 2009.”