Cash-for-scrap helps push up February car sales

Registrations went up again in February - the eighth month running - but they are only just reaching sales figures last seen in February 2008 when new car buying activity was at pre-recessionary levels.

Official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 68,686 cars were registered in February, a rise of 26 per cent on the previous year. Cars bought under scrappage made up 20 per cent of February's registrations.

However, there is a double whammy facing car buyers: the end of the scrappage scheme and the introduction of the new showroom tax.

With the £2000 incentive ending on March 31 or when the funding runs out, the main worry will be how new the car market will cope. Without these sales February's registrations would have been around 55,000.

Hyundai continues to top the scrappage sales table with the i10 the sixth best seller for the month. But customers could miss out on the £2000 discount because of the way the final cash-for scrap funds have been divided up.

The final Government money has been shared out on retail sales between May 2009 and December 2009 and not just scrappage registrations, so Hyundai will lose out to bigger car makers like Ford.

The number of orders placed under scrappage toral 367,506 as of 23 February, leaving some 30,000 potential orders remaining for March, the last month the scrappage scheme is running.  

Another issue will be the extra costs buyers are set to be hit with. From April new car buyers will have to pay a one-off 'showroom tax'. This could see the most polluting cars hit by a £950 first-year tax.

A number of buyers have told Parker's that they have been put off buying a new car because of the rising prices and other costs.

• The best selling cars in February (private and fleet registrations combined)

1 Ford Fiesta 3236 2 Ford Focus 3035 3 Volkswagen Golf 2586 4 Vauxhall Astra 2524 5 Vauxhall Corsa 2391

• The worst performing manufacturers in February (private and fleet registrations combined)