Although the recent announcement that the pool of cash available to the government’s scrappage scheme was met with yelps of joy and a sigh of relief across the automotive industry, many point out that the scheme will continue long enough to take the industry past a potentially damaging VAT rise set for January next year but what after that? Among other worrying signs, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers showed that production in the UK fell back to a 31.5pc year-on-year fall in August. This followed four consecutive months of scrappage-induced improvement from 56.5pc to 23.7pc. There may also be some evidence that the take up of the scrappage scheme is slowing and that the extra £100,000 being pumped into it may even go unused. Over to you Mr Mandleson.
15
Oct
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