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Car sales rise 30% as scrappage extended

(TIMES ONLINE) -  Car sales rose by nearly 30 per cent in January, as buyers hurried to benefit from the Government’s car scrappage scheme, which has been extended for an extra month.

The scheme, which began last May, was due to end in February or when funding ran out.

However, yesterday the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation (BSI) said it would allow buyers until the end of March to take advantage of the scheme, which offers consumers a £2,000 discount, half from the industry and half from the Government, to trade in vehicles that are more than ten years old.

According to BSI estimates, there is £70 million left of scheme funding. Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, said: “Against the background of the economic downturn the scrappage scheme has proved a great success, driving UK car sales, protecting jobs and supporting the supply chain for car manufacture at a time when this sector needed it most.

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