12:06 am, February 25, 2010
THE end of the scrappage scheme doesn’t have to mean the end of the world, car dealers have told us.
We’ve been out on the road in Darlington, County Durham, quizzing dealerships about the end of the scheme and were surprised at just how positive dealers were.
On the day the last of the scrappage scheme funds were doled out to manufacturers, sales staff told Car Dealer they were positive about life after the initiative.
Dealers said buyer confidence was increasing and the outlook isn’t all ‘doom and gloom’.
Laurie Lowe, group marketing executive at RMB Toyota, said: ‘It will be a shame when the scheme ends as it has brought us incremental business. However, consumer confidence is now starting to return so I think we will still see sales volumes increase further.’
And with new ‘swappage’ schemes being introduced, Sherwoods Vauxhall and SG Petch Hyundai didn’t expect to see any decrease in new car sales.
Evans Halshaw Nissan was positively brazen – franchise manager Gina May said they’d ‘adapt to any challenges thrown at them after the scrappage scheme ends’.
MINIMAL STOCK
Lookers Volkswagen has had trouble keeping up with their scrappage scheme orders, due to Volkswagen’s policy of keeping minimal stock during the economic downturn, but a sales representative said he was confident sales ‘wouldn’t decrease after the scheme ends’. He highlighted used car sales as the area that will see increased demand.
All of the dealers Car Dealer spoke to agreed the scrappage scheme had been beneficial, despite the fact profits per unit weren’t particularly high.
They added that profits have increased overall because of the higher volume of sales and by upselling optional equipment on the cars retailed under the scheme.
Another of the positives was the fact most buyers under scrappage were usually interested in used cars and that now they’ve seen and experienced buying new they might be more inclined to do so again in the future.
Do you agree with your Darlington colleagues? Let us know by posting your comments below.
