The Government scrappage scheme has received mixed reactions amongst those in the motor trade and taxpayers alike, but car manufacturers such as Honda will be hoping that it kick starts the UK motor industry, and Honda in particular received evidence that it could well do so.
Honda’s new hybrid vehicle, the Insight, flew to the top of the best sellers list in Japan having sold more than 10,000 units in April. The car industry in Japan has been in decline for the past decade – unlike the rest of the world whereby the market has been affected by the global credit crunch and economic downturn.
This was seen as a double whammy for Honda whom were the only car manufacturer to experience a rise in sales for April compared to the same time period the previous year (2008). This is evidence that the market can pick up if the product is the one that buyers want and the Insight, the world’s cheapest hybrid vehicle is exactly that as people want economic cars that are eco-friendly.
As Japan look set to introduce a scrappage scheme of their own, Honda expect to shift an extra 100,000 new Honda Insight vehicles. UK sales of the Insight may not be close to the success of the domestic sales, yet the scrappage scheme looks set to improve sales of new Honda vehicles at a time where they desperately need a sales boost.
Workers at the Honda production plant in Swindon have had their salaries cut by 3 per cent to safeguard their jobs. That is obviously a much better alternative to letting go some of the workforce, yet it does highlight the fact that companies as big as the Japanese giants have had to adjust to the slump in sales so any kind of incentive to boost sales must be seen as a positive move.
A discount of £2,000 off a new Honda vehicle is a very attractive proposition, especially when you take into account that Honda cars perform strongly in terms of depreciation. This particular manufacturer continue to lead the pack in terms of engineering innovation and to think that a new Honda Civic can be yours for as little £12,000 thanks to the government scrappage scheme is astounding.
The Governemnet have had their doubters of late, and rightly so in some cases, but the scrappage scheme could well be the antidote to the plight of many car manufacturers.
Tags: honda, Honda Insight, new Honda
