Thursday June 4, 10:52 AM
Britain new car sales plunge by a quarter
LONDON (AFP) - Sales of new cars in Britain dropped 24.8 percent in May from a year earlier, industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said on Thursday.
"While consumer confidence is improving, the UK motor industry is still facing a difficult economic climate," SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said in a statement.
In a bid to kick-start Britain's ailing auto industry, the government has introduced a scheme whereby 10-year-old cars can be scrapped in return for a 2,000-pound (2,250-euro, 3,050-dollar) discount on a new model.
The government is contributing 1,000 pounds per car while the industry provides a similar amount.
The initiative is scheduled to last until February 2010 or until the 300 million pounds of government funding are used up. Britain's scheme is similar to ones introduced in France and Germany.
"We have seen an encouraging start to the scrappage incentive scheme with 35,000 orders being placed since it was announced, although it will take time to feed into registration figures," Everitt said Thursday.
The global automaking sector is in crisis as consumers steer clear of buying vehicles amid the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.
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