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Latest Government figures show that 144,308 cars and light vans have been bought through the scrappage scheme since it went live on 18 May 2009.
Of these, almost 85,000 vehicles have now been registered, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Green cars are the biggest sellers, as shown by Ford, whose sales are up by 92 per cent for models with emissions of 120g CO2/km and less.
In July 21%, or 33,026, of new car registrations were as a result of the scrappage incentive scheme. In the commercial vehicle sector, 499 vans were registered under the scheme, accounting for 1.5% of the total scrappage registrations and 3.6% of overall van registrations in July.
“The scrappage scheme has contributed to the first increase in new car registrations since April last year,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “Smaller, lower-CO2 emitting cars are taking the lion’s share of registrations which will have a positive impact in reducing emissions as well as boosting the UK motor industry.”
New car registrations rose 2.4% in July to 157,149 units. This was the first growth in 15 months, reflecting the positive impact of the scrappage incentive scheme.
Registrations to private buyers were up for a second successive month, with a 33.4% gain recorded in July.
Further positive effects of the scrappage scheme were also evident in growth in the small car sectors. Mini segment registrations more than trebled in July, from 2008, while supermini volumes rose 15.7% to account for 37.5% of all registrations.
The Ford Fiesta has been the best selling model eight times in the last nine months. Hyundai, with the i10, was in the top ten for the first time ever during July.
Ford Fiesta sales are up by over 26 per cent. The Fiesta represents 44 per cent of Ford’s scrappage business, which added almost 4,000 registrations last month and a total of 16,500 vehicles to Ford’s order bank since the scheme began.
The Ford Fiesta is Britain’s best selling car for the eighth time in nine months, with the Focus again in second place.
Sales are soaring for Fords with emissions of 120g CO2/km and less – up by 92 per cent year to date for the 45 Ford Ka, Fiesta, Fusion, Focus and C-MAX derivatives in the £35 annual road tax bracket.
The Hyundai i10 is the top selling car under the scheme, with 3084 finding homes last month, making the i10 the ninth most popular car in the UK in July.
The i20, i30 and Coupe have all helped to push Hyundai’s sales up a massive 203 percent compared to the same month last year, to 6011 cars.
It made the marque ninth overall in the manufacturers’ top ten with a market share for the month of 3.8 percent – Hyundai’s highest ever.
In terms of private sales, as opposed to business or fleet, Hyundai took the number two spot.
Despite all the good news, total new car registrations over the year-to-date remain down 22.8% or 318,795 units. Volumes over the past 12 months have dropped by 548,330 units, reflective of how much the recession has knocked demand. The market is expected to fall 14.4% to 1.825 million units this year and decline a further 5% in 2010 to 1.73 million units.
Only around half of the government’s scrappage funds are still available.
Sales figures courtesy of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
