Car production in Britain saw its biggest rise for more than 30 years in January though the year on year comparison was against a severely depressed, post-credit crunch market in early 2009.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said car output rose almost 65% over January 2009 after 101,190 new cars rolled off UK production lines as scrappage schemes here and in Europe boosted demand.
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Several European governments are still running the new-for-old schemes. Britain’s scrappage scheme, recently extended to the end of March, allows car owners to trade in a 10-year-old vehicle for a GBP2,000 (US$3,189) discount on a new car – the discount is split equally between the government and car manufacturer.
The 64.8% increase in production last month was the biggest monthly gain since May 1976, the SMMT said.
Chief executive Paul Everitt said: “Vehicle and engine production rose for a third successive month in January, demonstrating the continued success of global scrappage incentive schemes.”
Such schemes are coming to a close, however, and Germany’s ended in October. Though the UK scheme ends next month, the SMMT still expects a modest recovery in 2010 output as economic growth, a competitive exchange rate and the introduction of new models [eg Toyota Auris hybrid, Nissan Juke, Jaguar XJ] to UK plants help to lift output above that of 2009.
