Tuesday 22 September 2009

LTI VEHICLES CALLS FOR AN EXTENSION TO CAR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME


LTI Vehicles the British manufacturer of the iconic London Taxi has called on the Government to extend the Car Scrappage Scheme.

John Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Manganese Bronze Holdings the parent company of LTI Vehicles, supports recent appeals from a number of automotive organisations for the Government to continue to support the Motor Industry and British jobs;

“The Government’s Car Scrappage Scheme has provided real help for business over the last few months. It has accounted for over 20% of London Taxi sales during the period of the scheme and has supported sales volume through one of the deepest recessions in living memory.

“As a British manufacturer based in Coventry, with dealerships across the UK we are calling on the Government to extend the Scrappage Scheme, while the automotive market remains fragile.

“While other countries are moving out of recession the OECD have released data to show the UK economy will shrink more than the Treasury has forecast this year and our exit from recession will be slower than the US or European recovery. Given the position of the UK economy and British manufacturing it would appear prudent to extend the Scrappage Scheme to support the British automotive sector.

“LTI Vehicles is an excellent example of the success of the Government’s Scrappage Scheme and a reason to extend its operation in the current economic conditions.”

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Scrappage Scheme has supported 125 new taxi sales since its launch in May. This represents over 20% of all sales during the period the scheme has been operating.

It is predicted that the Scrappage Scheme will run out of funds in October. The automotive sector will also be hit by a return to 17.5% VAT on 1 January 2010 and a new Road Fund Licence regime in April 2010, which will introduce a new first year rate, which will add £740 onto the cost of a new taxi at the point of sale.

The other support packages announced by the Government for the industry this year have not achieved the same success as the Scrappage Scheme. The Automotive Assistance Programme has only provided £10m from the £2.3bn fund announced by Lord Mandelson in February. A number of other announcements of “Real Help” for business, including the Working Capital Guarantee Scheme and trade credit top up insurance have also failed to provide any tangible help to the automotive sector.

LTI Vehicles will be meeting and writing to a number of key stakeholders to seek support for the industry’s call for an extension to the Car Scrappage Scheme.

ENDS

Photo Caption: John Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Manganese Bronze Holdings

For more information please visit
www.lti.co.uk.

For enquiries please call Lee Southen at Connect PR on 01902 714957 or email
lee@connect-group.com.

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