Exclusive: “no plans” for new UK car scrappage scheme

The Federal government has verified there are “no current plans” for a new scrappage plan that would inspire folks to trade older, much more polluting cars and trucks in for new electric ones.

A spokesperson for the Federal government explained to Vehicle Specific: “We have no current plans to modify the existing incentives or to introduce a scrappage plan. We are dedicated to developing a greener transport process and decreasing carbon emissions to get to our purpose of web zero by 2050.”

The Federal government also highlighted it has invested £2.five billion into EV development and incentives, this sort of as the £3,000 plug-in automobile grant.

Previous reviews experienced indicated Prime Minister Boris Johnson was owing to announce a £6,000 EV scrappage plan this July, but ministers quickly poured h2o on these rumours. Now, the Federal government has officially ruled out any this sort of plan.

Even though no express rationale was specified, attainable explanations include the likely value implications of an effective plan, as very well as no matter whether there is the community hunger for investing in this region specified the depths of the economic challenges write-up-Covid Britain is struggling with.

Critics also stage out scrappage strategies are reasonably wasteful, eliminating serviceable cars and trucks from the highway and making cars and trucks for younger motorists harder to uncover and more high priced. Others, although, argue this sort of strategies encourage the economic system, as very well as manufacturing and work, when also encouraging the uptake of cleaner cars. 

Dealers and producers will undoubtedly be let down to discover that a scrappage plan has been ruled out, with the most up-to-date figures exhibiting revenue ended up down 89 for each cent in Could, when Uk factories created 95.4 for each cent fewer cars and trucks previous month as the industry battled coronavirus limitations. 

The UK’s previous automobile scrappage plan was announced in the 2009 Finances below Gordon Brown’s Labour Federal government, and encouraged motorists to swap their older, much more polluting cars and trucks for newer, cleaner versions.

Because then, motor vehicle electrification has state-of-the-art substantially, while the track record of diesel cars and trucks has taken a battering owing to concerns over NOx emissions and the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal.

In an exceptional interview with Vehicle Specific previous yr, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called on motorists to foyer the Federal government for a countrywide diesel scrappage plan. This was followed by the AA contacting for a £1 billion diesel scrappage plan to be funded by English metropolitan areas, as very well as central Federal government.

Automobile industry phone calls for scrappage plan

British automobile industry bosses have been contacting on the federal government to offer assist to automobile consumers to aid kick-begin the economic system.

Talking to Vehicle Specific, Ford of Britain boss Andy Barratt defined how you will find a require for some sort of stimulus that addresses equally ends of the automobile industry and will get older, dirtier cars off the highway.

“Any diploma of stimulus has to be good to the industry – it’s bought to be good to all,” he said. “You can’t just encourage the small close – and when you think about our producing base in the Uk there is quite a good deal of significant-close organization that comes out of the west midlands – so you’ve bought to have some thing that’s good to all the industry. It can’t be professional-the significant close and there is bought to be a diploma of stimulus for the entire industry.

“It’s bought to renew the fleet – we want to get the older dirtier cars off the highway – preferably, we like a scrappage element for the inexperienced credentials, but it doesn’t have to be scrappage – it could be scrappage or some thing related.

“I think it’s unfair to inquire for any diploma of stimulus without the need of a matching contribution from the industry.”

Alison Jones, boss of PSA in the Uk, which addresses Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and DS, verified that industry discussions on the finest way to boost the automobile industry have taken place and a proposal was becoming set to federal government. Speaking to Automobile Dealer journal she said, “To have a stimulus package deal, it absolutely desires to be around CO2 and not just ultra-small emission cars, there are a good deal of excellent ICE cars now with small CO2 so that would inspire buyers to go into reduced CO2 and ultra-small emissions cars, and then to have a cap on that price as it desires to aid the folks that require it most. 

“That’s what we’re functioning with and placing to federal government alongside industry colleagues and that debate is ending at the second.

“I think federal government is interested in the dialogue, no matter whether they will eventually assist it I do not know, but I think it definitely desires to be around the environmental credentials we’ve been functioning to as an industry.”

Jones also hinted that automobile consumers could be waiting around for some sort of scrappage plan in advance of they invest in. “Customers could wait around for a stimulus package deal in advance of creating a determination,” she said.

Before in the month, Kia Europe boss Emilio Herrera explained to Vehicle Specific that he assumed automobile revenue could get back to typical levels later on this yr, but only with federal government assist. “We require to make guaranteed that the governments offer a excellent assist prepare for the industry otherwise that will not come about,” he said. “The bulk of the nations around the world are wanting at a assist prepare: Germany is wanting at it, France is wanting at it, Spain is wanting at it, Italy also. I’m guaranteed the Uk is wanting at it, discussing with the SMMT to have a assist prepare for the industry. 

“With that, the second half [of the yr] will be even much better than we think.”

Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson has also called on governments to focus on subsidising electric cars, declaring that restarting or enhancing existing incentives on electric cars would aid producers and reply to client tendencies. “If you do scrappage strategies then you should do what you would do anyhow,” Samuelsson said. “It’d be excellent to encourage new technological know-how – excellent for governments to assist electric cars, which are much more high priced in the very first yrs.

“I imagine that immediately after coronavirus it would be naive to hope anything to return to typical – to think that individuals will occur back into showrooms asking for petrol or diesel cars and trucks. And if governments in some way subsidise a return to the outdated environment, it’ll be a waste of income. They should use the income to encourage new technological know-how, as they ended up arranging to do in advance of coronavirus.”

Vincent Tourette, managing director of Groupe Renault Uk & Eire, also explained to Vehicle Specific: “There has been enormous expense in bringing new Ultra Reduced Emission Motor vehicles to industry but this current crisis hazards slowing down this transition.  We would welcome Federal government assist that encourages the sale of new cars with the most up-to-date emission benchmarks, and with as much emphasis as attainable placed on zero and ultra-small emission cars in buy to quick-keep track of us to our environmental commitments.”

Do you think the federal government should be accomplishing much more to aid the automobile industry? Let us know in the responses down below…