Scrap Car Programs in Other Countries
A look at government scrapping programs in other countries
I'm sure everyone reading this blog knows about the Retire Your Ride program, running from January 2009 to March this year. It encouraged Canadians to trade in their 1995 or earlier car for incentives such as a $300 cheque or a public transit pass. What about car scrapping programs in other countries? Let's take a look...
United States
Our neighbour down south created a $3 billion US federal scrap car program called Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), enabling them to purchase a new fuel efficient vehicles when trading in a junk car. The program officially started on July 1, 2009, but because of high demand, the first billion was exhausted by the end of July (end date of November was targeted), The government then boosted the program with a $2 billion infusion. The program resulted in 690,000 dealer transactions submitted requesting a rebate total of $2.8 billion. The average fuel efficiency of trade-ins was 15.8 mpg, while the new replacement cars averaged 24.9 mpg (58% fuel efficiency improvement).
Germany
The German scrap car program was the largest in Europe and was emulated by UK, France and Italy. The car eligibility extended to all cars older than nine years and paid a premium of €2500 towards a new purchase. Announced in January 2009, the program was limited to 600,000 cars and a budget of €1.5 billion. The unexpected popularity of the program pressured the government to extend the program to the end of the year, inflating the budget to €2.5 billion.
United Kingdom
The British scrapping program offered a £2000 cash payment, paid evenly by the government and auto industry back in January 2009. The program cost was capped at £300 million allowing for about 300,000 customers to benefit. In September 2009, the government extended the program to cover cars registered from February 2000.
France
The French scrap car program was announced in January 2009, with junk cars older than ten years admitted, along with a set emissions standards for the new replacement vehicle.
Italy
The Italians had a government incentive program running in 2007 and 2008 that offered €700 plus a tax rebate. A revised program in 2009 that was running til the end of the year tightened the requirements for the vehicles. The pay scheme of €1500 could be combined with a new car purchase incentive of €1500-2000.
China
Rebates of $450 to $900 for trading in old heavy polluting cars and trucks for new vehicles was on the table for a national program running June 2009 to May 2010. 2.7 million junk cars were expected to be replaced from the nation's roads. In Shanghai, trade-in incentives of $450 to $1,100 increased the total subsidy to reach $2000. Progress was slow until the incentives were raised as high as $2600, and this was enough to run the program til the end of 2010.
Japan
Japan launched their car scrapping program on April 2009 to March 2010, offering up to 250,000 yen (~US$2,500) for cars 13 years and older to purchase fuel-efficient cars. They also offered tax incentives on gasoline-electric hybrids and other low emission vehicles allocating $3.7 billion for the program.
Car scrapping schemes comparison in selected countries
| Country |
Max Incentive |
Age Requirement |
Emissions Requirement |
Government Cost |
| United States |
$4500 (€3160) |
> 25 years |
No |
$3 billion |
| Germany |
€2500 ($3550) |
> 9 years |
No |
$7.1 billion |
| United Kingdom |
£2000 ($3330) |
> 10 years |
No |
$500 million |
| France |
€1000 ($1420) |
> 10 years |
Yes |
$554 million |
| Italy |
€3500 ($5000) |
> 10 years |
Yes |
- |