Scrappage Scheme cash is running out!

If you’re looking to grab a new car bargain through the Scrappage Scheme, you had better move fast – as nearly half the cash has already gone!

While the latest industry figures estimate that around 30,000 cars have been snapped up through the incentive, stats released by the Department for Business (BERR) – which is overseeing the scheme – show that the true number is actually closer to 122,000. That’s more than four times as many!

The difference is down to red tape, according to industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It says its figures are only for cars which have already been processed and registered by the DVLA. A spokeswoman for the SMMT added: “Many of these will be orders from buyers waiting for the new registration plate in September, too.”

But if dealers keep taking orders at the current rate of 13,500 cars a week, the money will run out before the end of the year. And the scheme could finish even earlier than that – as the Government cash also needs to cover administration costs, which still haven’t been calculated. BERR said an announcement will be made on the number of cars or weeks remaining when most of the money is spent.

These latest figures reveal the UK Scrappage Scheme has already proven more successful than its stricter equivalent on the other side of the Channel. In France, where the authorities have already announced plans to phase out the discounts, cars sold at a rate of 9,500 a week to mid-June.

But in Germany, where buyers are given 2,500 Euros (£2,200) for trading in their cars, dealers are heading for their best year ever. Six weeks after the scheme came in, 570,000 cars had been sold – 40 per cent more than last year.

Over here, Hyundai still tops the table, with 17,000 Scrappage cars ordered, and Kia is second on 16,032. More established brands are cashing in, too, with Ford (14,615), Vauxhall (10,152) and VW (9,091) now catching up.