Car scrappage scheme helps boost first-half car sales by 14%

THE car scrappage scheme which ended last week has helped boost first-half car sales by 14% on last year.

The scheme gave motorists relief on vehicle registration tax for new vehicles if they scrappeda car at least 10 years old. The scheme was supplemented by discounts from many motor dealerships.

According to data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), just over 11,000 of the 77,134 new cars sold in the first six months of 2011 were bought last month as motorists took advantage of the Government incentive to the auto sales sector. The figures compare with more than 67,000 sales from January to June 2010 and leave the industry just over 11,000 short of all sales for last year, although there is normally a sharp decline in sales in the second half of every year.