U.K. Extends Cash for Clunkers
September 29, 2009
The United Kingdom is the latest European nation to expand and extend its Cash for Clunkers program, which in the U.S. has expired with no plans to revive.
The U.K. government announced an extension and additional funding for as many as another 100,000 cars for its so-called "Cash for Bangers" program.
Automakers in Europe fear, with Cash for Clunkers programs ended or winding down, car sales will return to double-digit declines. Some countries are considering bringing the programs back or extending current ones, as the U.K. has done.
The current U.K. program, which provided a subsidy on a new car for trade-ins 10 years or older, was scheduled to end in February next year but has been so popular as was the one in the U.S. that the funds were quickly running out, possibly by next month.
The new program extends it by six months, though its popularity is likely to deplete the funding by early next year, experts say. The plan expands to cover vans eight years old.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:13 AM under Companies , News | Comments (3) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
This could be a Sam Peckenpah-style slo-mo train wreck for the British economy. Eventually, Government incentives will replace Manufacturer incentives and it continues forever.
Posted by: fulcrumb | September 29, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Clearly, these countries' governments don't understand market economics at all, and probably reject the principles anyway, lest their cocoon be penetrated by logic. People will trade some of their earings for an item when they need it, want it, see its value in their lives, and when they have confidence that their prospects for future employment or staying in business are good.
So instead of subsidizing auto purchases (car welfare, the next entitlement program), why not get out of the way and stop inhibiting peoples' freedom? And supposedly, just because many of the socialist European countries have joined in, we're supposed to too, so that we can be like them and drag down our economy and depress individual initiative? That's what the the problem is right now. Remove the barriers to productivity! The U.S. could lead the way out of this recession if we hadn't sent so many Marxists to Washington.
Posted by: cwc1 | September 29, 2009 at 7:23 PM
cwc1 - enough of the Republican party propoganda. The UK is not a socialistic nation I I alsways laugh at you Fox News types who throw words like facist, socialist, communist around. How d you like driving on your socialist roads - we all paid for them!
The UK is a market economy (hence why it is the 5th largest economy). I agree with you that subsidizing car sales long term is a bad idea. Just cut out the party line crap.
Posted by: guy1974 | October 01, 2009 at 12:01 PM