Recently-announced diesel scrappage schemes could be nothing more than a smokescreen for price wars between automakers, The Telegraph reports.
Citing a number of industry experts, the publication asserts that efforts to take heavily-polluting old diesel vehicles off the streets could be nothing more than a marketing tactic aimed at bolstering stalling new vehicle sales.
Discussing the schemes, such as those announced in the UK and Germany where owners can get up to £7,000 ($9,000) off new vehicles by trading in their diesels, IHS Automotive principal analyst Ian Fletcher suggested they’re just another war of launching a price war.
“These schemes generate really good headlines but it is a price war by another name. Most of these schemes last until the end of the year but if the market decline continues we will see all sorts of other offers,” he said.
Fletcher went on to suggest that diesel scrappage offers could encourage UK residents to buy a new vehicle or renew a lease despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
The editor-in-chief of industry magazine Car Dealer, James Baggott also raised concerns about whether automakers will actually scrap old diesel or if they’ll simply sell them on.
“It’s definitely a marketing initiative by the industry but if they are genuinely getting the oldest and smelliest cars off the road then that is a good thing – but it all depends if they are actually scrapping these vehicles,” Baggott said.
Despite the assertions of many industry analysts, a major car manufacturer source said, “there are much cheaper says of stimulating sales than dealing with the paperwork and cost of scrapping and recycling cars, such as giving cheaper finance deals.”
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