UK Govt Scrappage Scheme!

[PassatB6]

Why can't we do this here?$8,000 off the price of a new VW.

From the UK*

"Volkswagen are pleased to announce some additional contributions to the Government’s car scrappage scheme.

*If you buy a Volkswagen*Golf S*model you will get a total of £3,950*saving off*diesel engines and £3,250 saving off petrol engines. This saving includes the £1,000 incentive from the Government.* This means you can now buy a new Golf S 1.4 80PS 3dr from £10,335 in conjunction with the government scrappage scheme. (Golf SE, GT, GTI and GTD models will continue to get the standard £2,000 scrappage scheme incentive). * Volkswagen are also offering a total of £4,250 saving off all models in the*Passat range, including Saloon, Estate and CC.* This saving includes £1,000 incentive from the*Government.* This means you can now buy a new Passat Saloon from £12,190 in conjunction with the government scrappage scheme. * A total saving of £3,250 is also available on*all Golf Estate, Golf Plus and Touran models." *

[phaeton]

I think because we're running dry on funds

[team_v]

I think because we're running dry on funds

Exactly!

The new sales will provide stamp duty and Government charges (registration, new plates etc) but i don't know if it would neutralise and provide a gain on the investment they would put in.

It could also be the fact that most of the cars solf in EU would be made in EU.
If you look at how many of the cars sold in Australia are actually made here, it is a small amount compared to the total car sales.
If you provide a scrappage scheme in Australia, the money would be going overseas rather than staying in Australia.
Also most people are now looking at buying small/economic cars. How many australian made small economic cars are there? Answer, none!

[Tim]

there was a thing on the news a little while ago about a similar scheme in germany.
The gov did it to try and save the local auto industry. Its working to sell a lot of cars. The only problem was that too many people are rushing out to buy the cheapest korean built cars cos they are stupidly cheap after the incentive discount.

It was said to be costing the gov billions of dollars that our gov dont have and I dont think the second hand car market would enjoy another slap in the face either.

[PassatB6]

This is about buying a German car in the UK so local manufacturing is not the issue. In Germany there was a bonus for if you traded a car older than I think 12 or 13 yrs. Its a great way to get old polluting cars off the road and stimulate the auto industry. The money is directed to an industry which is probably better than giving everyone $900 to spend on whatever takes their fancy.

[team_v]

This is about buying a German car in the UK so local manufacturing is not the issue. In Germany there was a bonus for if you traded a car older than I think 12 or 13 yrs. Its a great way to get old polluting cars off the road and stimulate the auto industry. The money is directed to an industry which is probably better than giving everyone $900 to spend on whatever takes their fancy.

From memory, i believe the scrappage program was part of the 2008 European Union Stimulus Package so it was "local manufacturing" to a degree over there.

It is a great way to get rid of old, polluting cars and provide an incentive to get a newer, greener car.
This would cause an enormous glut int eh second hand car market though, as someone stated above.

Unfortunately the Australian automotive Industry is pretty much screwed and the government keeps throwing money at it to keep them afloat, so targeting the automotive industry may be a good option for stimulus but almost all cars are made overseas anyway so the economic benefit would go overseas.

[PassatB6]

From memory, i believe the scrappage program was part of the 2008 European Union Stimulus Package so it was "local manufacturing" to a degree over there.

It is a great way to get rid of old, polluting cars and provide an incentive to get a newer, greener car.
This would cause an enormous glut int eh second hand car market though, as someone stated above.

Unfortunately the Australian automotive Industry is pretty much screwed and the government keeps throwing money at it to keep them afloat, so targeting the automotive industry may be a good option for stimulus but almost all cars are made overseas anyway so the economic benefit would go overseas.

Point taken but it applied to cars made outside EU as well, Japanese, Korean etc.

[team_v]

Point taken but it applied to cars made outside EU as well, Japanese, Korean etc.

I know, i think it is a good system to have but people sometimes get blinded by all the good and fail to see the detrimental effects it may/will have.

I am not against this package being initiated in Australia, i am just throwing up ideas as to why it was not offered here since you asked why it wasn't.

[Tim]

i am just throwing up ideas as to why it was not offered here since you asked why it wasn't.

oh thats easy! Its cos the current gov doesnt know its tuchus from its elbow when it comes to worthwhile economic policy

(not that I believe it is just too easy an opportunity to not take a shot at the gov)

[PassatB6]

Apparently there will be more plasma packages in the future, err I mean stimulus packages.

[Treza360]

Apparently there will be more plasma packages in the future, err I mean stimulus packages.

I believe they will be more aimed at infrastructure projects and those kind of things where it will have more of a significant impact on the economy.
Cheers,
Trent

[gldgti]

It is a great way to get rid of old, polluting cars and provide an incentive to get a newer, greener car.

people always assume that older cars are "polluting" and dirty, and that may be the case for some vehicles.... it is however a TOTAL MYTH that driving an older car is a bad thing.

when you consider the *enormous!!!* amount of energy that goes into the production of a new motor car, including raw materials useage, burning of fuels to refine the materials within the vehicle, environmental degradation due to mining, etc etc at length, it is a FACT that one of the best things you can do for the environment, is to own an economical vehicle for a long time.

if you keep your mk1 diesel golf for 30 years, you will have so much less impact on the environment than if you buy just one new car in that time, and NEVER drive it. just building one car uses far more energy than you will burn up in 300,000km of driving.

[Golf Loon]

I agree with Aydan, but I would support a Govt scheme here for example, $500 for every car over 2Ls that people could drag, drive or roll into a recycling centre.

This would get rid of a lot of the old guzzlers, lots of which are massive and so would have lots of scrap steel.

Eg XE Falcon, or VB Commodore, 2 of the ugliest and non efficient cars IMO.

I reckon there would be a period of time where people would be dragging cars out of paddocks etc to scrap em, but then they would be gone and could never pollute again.

By not extending the scheme to smaller engined cars, it would support the people who are just gonna keep an old car forever, which is the most energy efficient thing you can do.

Just my 2c worth.

[team_v]

people always assume that older cars are "polluting" and dirty, and that may be the case for some vehicles.... it is however a TOTAL MYTH that driving an older car is a bad thing.

when you consider the *enormous!!!* amount of energy that goes into the production of a new motor car, including raw materials useage, burning of fuels to refine the materials within the vehicle, environmental degradation due to mining, etc etc at length, it is a FACT that one of the best things you can do for the environment, is to own an economical vehicle for a long time.

if you keep your mk1 diesel golf for 30 years, you will have so much less impact on the environment than if you buy just one new car in that time, and NEVER drive it. just building one car uses far more energy than you will burn up in 300,000km of driving.

Just to clarify, i meant old and/or polluting cars.
Some old cars are quite good with their emissions but there are also a lot of old bombs out there that blow a lot of smoke and run pretty high emissions/fuel economy.
It's just another way to stimulate the economy and tack on a "green answer" to the problem rather than an actual energy/emission regulation.

I do agree that it costs a lot of energy and therefore emissions to make a new car.
However in relation to the scrappage incentive, the new cars are already going to be made/have been made anyway so it adds no "extra" emissions/energy use.
I believe there was a base incentive in most countries, however the incentive went up more if you had a higher fuel consumption/higher emission car.



Note, i am just providing the information as i have found it from EU and American policies.

[gldgti]

Ahh i mant nothing towards you, just trying to clarify some other related points

However in relation to the scrappage incentive, the new cars are already going to be made/have been made anyway .

however this statement is a little.... lets say.. kind of untrue - generally speaking. scrappage schemes asside, encouraging people to buy new cars will add to the market demand.

from a conservation perspective, it is important to get people to consume less - in general - so therefore creating less demand for things to be made, and energy to be used.

so, if you add to the market demand for new cars, more cars will be made, and more resources spent. any effect a scheme like this could have in reducing some of the emissions from personal transport will/is far offset by the effects of increased production.

in an economic sense, sure it works. but the environmental hook to get people on-board is a joke - another case of false advertising.

***OPINION IMMINENT***
personally, i'd rather see a downturn in the vehicle production industry (such as is happenning now/has happened with Mitsubishi Australia, Chrysler and GM) and have those people left out of work be given the opportunity through government funding (that is being used to prop up the economically un-viable companies instead) to be trained in other areas and given jobs in manufacturing renewable energy technology - rather than see what we do see.
however, its much easier to throw money at something, for most governments, it seems

***opinion over***



nonetheless, thanks for bringing this subject to light for us.