Britain's car scrappage scheme victims uncovered
Details of the vehicles lost to the 2009 scrappage scheme have been revealed, and they make grim reading for classic car enthusiasts. Along with the thousands of humdrum saloons and hatchbacks was a significant number of classics, traded-in and certified for destruction.
The scrappage scheme was initially introduced because new car sales in 2008 were so poor, and it was hoped that these incentives would stimulate new cars sales in a depressed market. It clearly worked, and sales remained largely buoyant, and failed to crash as they did in mainland Europe. But there was a price to pay.
Among the victims of the scheme were 88 Citroën 2CVs, 81 Morris Minors and 45 Jaguar XJ-Ss. In total 392,227 cars more than a decade old were culled that year.
But some good news for those grieving for the lost generation of cars, the Conservative and Labour parties have both confirmed they won’t be reintroducing it after the 2015 election.
Camilla Marshall, DEFRA communications officer said: ‘We do not have any plans to introduce scrappage.’
Labour party spokeswoman Gabriel Huntley added: ‘No one is suggesting the reintroduction of the Scrappage scheme and we have no plans to do so.’
Geoff Lancaster from the Federation of British Historic Vehicles Clubs (FBHVC) said: ‘The initial reaction on seeing this list in this amount of detail is quite shocking. The sheer scale is almost overwhelming. For those of us concerned with the preservation of our motoring heritage, the worry with scrappage schemes is that part of that heritage will be lost. However, I am encouraged that the depth and breadth of interest in our motoring heritage is strong and growing and resides with the hundreds of historic vehicle clubs that make up our Federation.’
Scrappage victims 10 shockers
1 Audi 200, four cars
2 BMW 8-Series, six cars
3 Citroën CX, four cars
4 Ford Capri, 18 cars
5 Lancia Delta, seven cars (one Integrale)
6 Mazda RX7, 10 cars
7 Mercedes-Benz SEC, 15 cars
8 Morris Marina, seven cars
9 Porsche 928, three cars
10 Wolseley Hornet, two cars
Look at the full list here
Murray Scullion