SIMI Urges Government to Extend Scrappage Scheme
The Society of the Irish Motoring Industry (SIMI) is to ask the Government to extend the scrappage scheme to 2011. So far this year, 10,472 new cars have been purchased through the scheme, however it is due to run out this December.
Speaking at a press conference today, SIMI President Eddie Murphy said "We anticipated that around 70,000 cars would be sold for the whole of this year, with the help of Scrappage. Today, we're already in excess of 75,000 and we predict that we'll sell closer to 85,000 for the year, an increase of nearly 50 percent on last year."
The scrappage scheme provides up to €1,500 of VRT relief to motorists that scrap their car, which must be over 10 years old, in favour of a new car with an emissions output of less than 140g/km. Mr. Murphy believes the rise in new car sales this year has improved customer sentiment and said "an extension of Scrappage into the peak buying season in the early part of next year
