Kia UK has taken more than 4,000 orders for new cars thanks to the scrappage scheme with vehicles including a rare 1965 Bond Equipe heading for the crusher. The company said that 76% of the new cars will be the Picanto, which starts at just £5995. Cars include a Porsche 944, Subaru Impreza Turbo and a number of Land Rover Defenders.
A spokeswoman said: “We are doing very well thanks to the scrappage scheme, especially on the Picanto and Rio.”
Hyundai had also announced that its dealers have taken 4,000 deposits on new cars during the first week of the apparently successful scrappage scheme. During the week, dealers even saw a selection of luxury cars being traded in including a Jaguar XJ-S for an i10 and an XJ6 for an i20. Hyundai also claimed dealers traded in 34 BMWs, 22 Audis and 32 Mercedes' cars and vans. Customers also traded in six Mazda MX-5s, seven MGFs and several Saabs.
Hyundai said total customer orders and deposits during the week reached 5,200. The most common cars to be traded in were the Nissan Micra with 200 and the Ford Escort with 126.
"We're geared up for scrappage scheme. We took a risk and ordered 3,000 i10s and i20s before the scheme was finalised. We have a boat in this week with another 800 models and another one coming soon so there's no shortage," said a spokesman.
Other companies have reported large numbers of orders from the scheme, which started at the beginning of this week.
General Motors said it had taken around 2,000 orders for models across its range and reported strong demand. Ford has taken more than 3,000 extra orders from first-time customers since the scheme was announced and said dealers were seeing a healthy amount of interest.