Vehicle Scrappage: A New for Old Plan that Does Not Stack Up
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LONDON – May 6, 2009: The World Engine Remanufacturing Council has condemned the UK's introduction of a vehicle scrappage scheme.
"This is another serious blow to automotive remanufacturing industry in general and to the European engine remanufacturing community in particular because of the potential impact on the availability of 'core' generated by the scrapping of ten-year-old vehicles," says Philipe Maerten, president of the Fédération du Matériel pour l´Automobile (Engine Remanufacturing Association of Belgium).
"If vehicle manufacturers are able to control the flow of 'core', they will also control the future of component remanufacturing as a whole."
As remanufacturing competes directly with the aftermarket business at dealership level, it's not hard to forecast the outcome:
"Engine remanufacturers have been at the forefront of the green automotive movement for decades but all these efforts have been seriously undermined by Governments' determination to bail out the vehicle manufacturers who are using 'green' arguments that do not stand up to the mildest form of scrutiny," adds Keith Wood, executive director of the New Zealand Engine Remanufacturer's Association.
Remanufactured engines are green in every sense, recycling original engine blocks and producing engines that conform to the latest low emissions regulations.
"It is a fact that there are more people working in the automotive aftermarket and remanufacturing sectors (repairing older vehicles, remanufacturing components - producing fewer emissions levels than newly manufactured products) in the UK than there are building new cars," says Brian Ludford, secretary of the UK-based Federation of Engine Remanufacturers. "This latest move threatens all of them, which is something the car companies will consider a very welcome by-product."
