Car sales jumped 6 per cent in August in a sign that the Government’s scrappage scheme is continuing to encourage demand for new vehicles.
The rise is the second monthly increase, after a 2.4 per cent gain in July, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Paul Everitt, the society’s chief executive, said that while the positive impact of the scrappage scheme was clear, and he warned that the programme should not be stopped prematurely, saying: “With consumer and business confidence still fragile, there remain significant risks ahead. It is essential that these early signs of recovery are sustained into 2010.”
Despite growth, the 2009 August market was still more than 10,500 units below the 2007 figure and 15 per cent off the 78,800 market average between 1999 and 2008.
Under the Government’s scrappage scheme which was introduced in May, consumers are offered a £2,000 discount, half by the industry and half by the Government, to scrap vehicles more than ten years old.
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Small cars continued to see the strongest sales in August. The Ford Focus was the best selling model, ahead of the Fiesta and Hyundai i10. Ford’s Fiesta was the best seller over the year-to-date.