Government yet to decide on possible scrappage scheme
DIVIDED
Prime Minister was reported to be considering a new scrappage scheme, but other ministers have said that is now ‘very unlikely’
THE CASE FOR A SCRAPPAGE scheme would stimulate the automotive sector, bring cleaner cars onto the road, and offer financial benefits to drivers by making new cars more affordable.
THE CASE AGAINST ANY scheme would come at the expense of the taxpayer, while scrapping potentially serviceable cars is wasteful and would reduce choice on the used market.
THE possibility of a new scrappage scheme encouraging drivers to scrap older petrol and diesel cars for new electric models has been hotly discussed at a senior Government level, according to several sources.
The Telegraph reported earlier in the month that Boris Johnson was considering a scheme that would see drivers given £6,000 if they traded in their petrol or diesel car for a brandnew EV. The paper reported that the scheme would be announced by the Prime Minister on 6 July, although the Department for Transport refused to confirm or deny any details.
The prospect of a scrappage scheme was later cast into doubt, however, following reports in the Financial Times that ministers considered such an
initiative “very unlikely”. The FT quoted four unnamed senior officials as saying scrappage had been under discussion, but there was little chance of a scheme, following disagreements over what form financial incentives should take.
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, directorgeneral of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote to the Prime Minister encouraging a scrappage scheme that promoted EVs, while the RAC said such a programme “might be the gamechanging boost the automotive sector needs”. New-car registrations were down 89 per cent in May, and remain 51.4 per cent down year-to-date.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, cautioned that any scrappage scheme would need to “support the entire market, reflecting the diversity of UK automotive manufacturing and the range of choice available to car buyers.”