Commercial Vehicle Production Down 73.5% in May
19/06/2009
Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown that commercial vehicle production was down 73.5% in May and 65.4% for the year to date compared with the same period last year.
Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive commented:
“Commercial vehicle production is severely affected by low business confidence and economic uncertainty.
Businesses across the economy are still holding back on new expenditure and will need to see better access to finance and stronger domestic demand.”
In contract car production saw its smallest drop of the year with production down 43% in May. Overall car production is down 54% for the year to date.
It would appear that demand for new cars is on the up at least in part to the number of scrappage schemes in place across Europe, however, the complete effects of these schemes is yet to be fully realized.
The UK’s scrappage scheme gives car buyers a £2,000 discount on a new car if they scrap one that is at least 10 years old. The buyer must have been the registered keeper, for at least 12 months, of the car that is due to be scrapped.
The scheme will run until March 2010 with half the scheme's cash is being paid for by the government, with the remainder being contributed by the manufacturers.
The government has set aside £300m to pay for the scheme and recent figures show that more than 60,000 orders for cars have been placed since the initiative was announced.
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