<br />
ONLINE WEEKLY<br />
MOTORTRADER<br />
ISSUE 34 THE VOICE OF THE CAR RETAILING SECTOR 11 JANUARY 2010<br />
<br />
VAT increase boosts<br />
December car sales<br />
John Kirwan<br />
<br />
<br />
NEW car registrations rose<br />
38.9 per cent to 150,936 units<br />
in December as consumers<br />
flocked to showrooms to<br />
avoid January's VAT increase.<br />
Full year registrations,<br />
however, despite the<br />
introduction of the scrappage<br />
scheme in mid-May, were<br />
down 6.4 per cent to<br />
1,994,999 units, their lowest<br />
level since 1995, according to<br />
figures released by the SMMT.<br />
Since its introduction,<br />
the scrappage scheme has<br />
accounted for over a fiftONLINE WEEKLYMOTORTRADERISSUE 34 ONLINE WEEKLYMOTORTRADERISSUE 34 02 NEWSPeter Vardy axesSunday openingsMove 02 NEWSPeter Vardy axesSunday openingsMoveNEWS 03Marshall chairman is knighted in honou NEWS 03Marshall chairman is knighted in honou04 NEWSKia rolls out sevenyear car warrantie 04 NEWSKia rolls out sevenyear car warrantie