Government Outline Incentive To Kickstart Motor Industry

The recession is set to continue through this year and next at least according to economists and that does not bode well for consumer markets, as High Street stores and car manufacturers feel the pinch more than any other industry.

The car trade has been hit very hard as quite simply people are less inclined to upgrade their car during the current economic climate and, therefore, car manufacturers have been laying off workers left, right and centre. BMW MINI have been the latest big brand to make many of its UK workforce redundant - 850 agency factory workers were laid off by BMW at their MINI factory plant in Cowley, Oxford last month as sales figures for the new MINI dropped.

Since its reincarnation in 2000, the new MINI has been a hugely popular success, both in the UK (where more than 1 million have been sold) and overseas, but like every other car brand, since the bottom fell out of the global economy more and more people are refraining from upgrading their car until they know when there will be some sort of stability within both the domestic economy and the economy worldwide.

The government recognise the demise of consumer industries, particular one so large as the car industry, and are trying to discover ways in which they can get things moving. Road tax has been completely restructured with a banding system that favours those vehicles with low CO2 emission levels and penalises those that emit more CO2.

Now the Government are considering a scheme that has been very successful in getting the German car market moving. They are proposing to off up to 2,500 pounds off the price of a brand new vehicle if you trade in a car that is nine years old or more. This is to lower the levels of CO2 on our roads and also to aid the car sales industry. As there are many people employed in the UK car industry, be it factory workers, mechanics, engineers, designers, sales or admin staff, it is vital that people start purchasing cars once again, if only for their livelihood.

People may scoff at this proposal as they may feel that drivers should not get any preferential treatment over others and many may also look at ways that this model can be exploited. People could just buy an old banger and then trade it in for a 2,500 pound discount off a brand new MINI, or brand new Honda, or brand new whatever.

This is just a proposal and will not come into play until the Budget is announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on April 22, if at all, but it is a sure sign that the Government - love 'em or hate 'em - are at least trying to do something to get the car market flowing once again.

Car manufacturers, no matter how big or small, need help - as many other industries do - during these difficult times and as the economy doesn't look like reaching any kind of stability in the near future, Government aid could well be vital for the industry and its workers, otherwise yet more redundancies could add to the 3 million plus that are already unemployed in the UK at present.