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Industry pins hopes on vehicle scrappage plan
Page 6
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By Christopher Walton THE ROAD transport industry has urged the government to introduce a vehicle scrappage scheme in the Budget in order to drag hauliers and dealers out of the recession.
With the Budget less than a week away (it will be unveiled on 22 April), a proposal to give owners of older vehicles approximately £2,000 towards the cost of greener models is believed to have the support of the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, but the scheme has yet to receive backing from the Treasury.
Robin Dickeson, manager of commercial vehicle affairs at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), tells CM that while the scheme is being discussed, predicting the details is "fraught with danger': He adds: "We are confident this would stimulate van sales, and if it also gets car sales going, it would start to boost confidence, but we have had no indication if it is specifically going to happen."
Dickeson stresses the benefits of the scheme would he felt across the entire automotive industry supply chain, and, as a result, would boost business for hauliers. too. John Stocker, the business development manager at Acumen Logistics, which works for first-tier automotive suppliers, says he would welcome any scheme that is aimed at increasing the sales of cars across the UK.
"The only issue is looking at which cars are actually built in the UK. Most cars are imported, and a lot of suppliers for UK-built cars are based in Europe, but anything that helps will be good for the industry as it works its way down the supply chain."
A scrappage scheme has already gained the support of the Road Haulage Association ('RHA backs scrap scheme', CM 9 April), which says "...any demand uplift would feed through as a stimulus to haulage operations': The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has called on the Treasury to ensure any scrappage scheme has an incentive to buy used vehicles of, at least, Euro-4 standard that emit no more than 165g/km of CO2.
• For live coverage of the Budget and analysis on how it could affect you, log on to www.roadtransport. corn on 22 April.