Britain is following Germany, France and Italy with a car scrapping scheme.

From this week UK motorists will get the equivalent of almost 2,300 euros when they trade in a vehicle over 10 year old for a new car. Half the money will come from the government and the rest from the manufacturers. The idea is to arrest falling sales and job cuts: Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said: “Nissan has already announced they are taking on another 150 employees at their plant in Sunderland and I know that Honda and other car companies are also expanding their work forces, in preparation for this scheme, so it’s good for customers, good for the car manufacturers and it will give a lift to the UK economy as well.” The British government has committed 340 million euros to the scheme, which will run until next February: On the day it started one woman who was trading in her old banger for a new car welcomed it. She said: “I think it’s a good idea; it gets a lot of old cars off the road, also it does help the motor trade, obviously, and it also – I think – helps the government, so I think everybody wins.” UK scrap dealers reported the volume of cars being scrapped was down by as much as 20 percent so far this year, an indication that the economic crisis has been dissuading drivers from buying new vehicles.More about: Car industry, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2012 euronews