The UK motor industry resounded with comments and opinions when the scrappage scheme was first announced earlier this year, and there has been a similar, if smaller, reaction to the news that the Government has extended its commitment by £100 million (see separate story).

Kia, Nissan and Volvo have all issued statements welcoming the extension of the scheme. In each case the reaction can be summed up in the single word “hurrah!”, though Nissan has taken the opportunity to remind us that it already has its own extension, whereby it will provide the full £2000 (without Government support) for cars as little as eight years old, as long as they are traded in for a UK-built Nissan, namely the Micra, Note or Qashqai.

Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association, says that “the extension to the scrappage scheme will be widely welcomed in the motor industry. The Government is also in talks in Brussels on additional support for the motor finance sector. We need Lord Mandelson to get a good result there, so that demand for new cars can continue to be met in the future when the economy recovers.”