Which? Report Wrongly Implicates Vauxhall

LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – July 31, 2009: A report published by Which? Car magazine today has wrongly implicated Vauxhall Motors in what it describes as a ‘Car scrappage price hike scheme’.

The report suggests that Vauxhall, and other manufacturers, are ‘inflating prices just when the scrappage scheme requires them to chip in at least £1000 worth of discount on a new car.’

Bill Parfitt, GM UK’s Chairman and Managing Director, was quick to nip the accusation in the bud: “Vauxhall has wholeheartedly embraced the scrappage scheme, which has boosted the flagging UK market to good effect. We have sold a total of 7,276 cars since the incentive was announced, but we have made no moves whatsoever to compensate for the £1000 contribution we make to the programme.

“It’s true that we, along with many other manufacturers, have raised our prices this year, but this was before the scrappage scheme was announced on May 18. In fact, our February 3 increase pre-dated the scrappage scheme by more than three months. The only reasons we have raised prices are a severe weakening of the Pound versus the Euro, and a sharp increase in the cost of raw materials, such as steel.”

Which? Car’s focus on the Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 SE’s 14 per cent price increase since launch is also very misleading and selective. The scrappage scheme’s appeal is to buyers at the lower end of the market, and the lion’s share of Vauxhall sales have therefore gone to its Corsa, Astra and Agila models, with Insignia accounting for a mere three per cent of scrappage trade-ins.

Despite this, the Insignia has been a massive sales success for Vauxhall, with over 36,000 orders taken this year, against an initial sales forecast of just 28,500. To the end of June, when the last official figures were published, 19,324 Insignias had been registered – 1501 more than its nearest rival, the Ford Mondeo – making it the best selling D-sector car in the UK.