FORD’S U-TURN ON SCRAPPING CLASSIC CARS
At last! Britain’s market leader agrees not to scrap any more tax-exempt classics – following campaign to save Standard Ten
Acampaign to save a Standard Ten earmarked for the scrap heap under Ford’s scrappage scheme has prompted Britain’s market leader to rethink its rules on classics traded in for discounts on new cars. The manufacturer has decided to introduce a rule banning Historic Vehicles from being automatically scrapped under the programme, following pressure from CCW, our sister magazine Practical Classics and the Standard Motor Club.
Charlotte Ward, Ford UK’s corporate news and social media manager, says: ‘On reflection, we’ve decided that we should be open to make special arrangements for Historic Vehicles that are handed in as a part of our scrappage scheme.’
‘We should be open to special arrangements for historic vehicles in the scrappage scheme’ CHARLOTTE WARD, FORD
The push to save a 1959 Standard from Ford’s scrappage deal ( CCW, 1 November) has prompted the company to change its rules on scrapping Historic Vehicles.
Ford has extended its UK scrappage scheme to March 2018, but has changed its previous position, stating that tax-exempt vehicles will now no longer automatically be scrapped.
This follows a two-month campaign in which a 1959 Standard Ten was threatened with the crusher after being traded in under Ford’s scheme for a new Transit van in Caithness. Ford initially insisted that the Standard had to be scrapped, as these were the terms of the scheme, but pressure from
CCW, Practical Classics and the Standard Motor Club convinced Ford to make an exemption for the British classic.
Ford has now made this its official policy, meaning that anything that the DVLA considers to be a ‘ historic vehicle’ that is submitted in a scrappage scheme at Ford dealers will have at least the opportunity to be saved.
Ford UK corporate news and social media manager, Charlotte Ward, says: ‘On reflection, we’ve decided that we should be open to make special arrangements for Historic Vehicles that are handed in as a part of our scrappage scheme. The Standard is the only historic vehicle of over 10,000 cars we have received, so the numbers involved are very small, but our dealers now know to flag up when they receive a classic.
‘ We’ll consider any car that comes up on an individual basis, considering the state of the vehicle and the wishes of the owner. The likely outcome will be the car going to a car club or similar.’
However, newer classics may still be scrapped under the scheme. Ford is currently unsure of how many post-1977 classics cars have been traded in under the scheme. Ward adds: ‘ We have asked dealers, but they don’t have to confirm, so we don’t have a definitive answer.’