Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ford goes live on scrappage

Ford is expected to get its scrappagecontracts with dealers signed today or tomorrow at the latest, a Ford spokesman said today.

It was among a number of carmakers who delayed implementing the scheme which went live yesterday because, it said, it could not sign off the contracts with dealers in time.

The final details of the scheme were delivered by BERR to carmakers on Friday.

Under the terms of the deal, consumers get £2,000 for scrapping their 10 year plus car and buying a new one, £1,000 comes from the government and £1,000 from the car industry. A total of 38 carmakers are taking part in the scheme.

According to the SMMT there had been a last minute hiatus because of confusion as to how VAT would be applied to the scheme.

And some carmakers had believed that they could offset some of the £1,000 cost to dealers, a move ruled out by BERR which said this had been made clear from the outset.

"We were only told on Friday by BERR that the £1,000 (manufacturer contribution) can not be partly funded by a dealer contribution. We need to look at how we will afford the scheme," said Mark Cameron, Mazda's sales and marketing director.

Ford said it was committed to the scheme and contracts would be signed off today or tomorrow at the latest. "We continue to take orders, we just needed more time," a spokesman said.

In its statement Ford said: "Ford is putting its full weight behind the UK vehicle scrappage scheme announced in last month's Budget.

"As a significant employer and investor in the UK, Ford expects the scheme to stimulate sales within the sector and help protect jobs.

"Ford has already taken in excess of 3,000 orders in connection with the scheme and it will commence delivery of the first vehicles to customers by May 20."

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