Hyundai stated that its new orders for the period April 23 to June 7 amounted to 8,246, which put the South Korean based manufacturer at the top of the list of the 15 car companies involved in Reuters’ survey.

Leading the way for Hyundai is its entry level i10 model, which is available for under £5,000 with the scrappage discount.

i10 - biggest selling model

All but one of the companies polled claimed that consumers were showing interest in cheaper and more fuel efficient cars, a trend which was back up by the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMTT) who note that since the various scrappage schemes have been implemented across Europe “there’s a tendency to buy smaller cars.”

The SMTT spokesperson noted that the trend was most likely due to a combination of lower CO2 emissions, better mpg and the lower price of these smaller models.

In second place behind Hyundai were Ford, who have 8,050 new car orders for the period, with Toyota just behind with an estimated 7,800 vehicle orders.

The Car Scrappage Team previously published statistics based on their own Scrappage survey reporting consumers were utilising the Scrappage Scheme to pursue the fuel efficient economy end of the market.

The Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) stated that cars will be dealt with as ordinary end-of-life vehicles through the manufacturers. The BERR also confirmed that the scheme’s main objective was to boost the car industry’s production and sales and therefore the scrappage industry together with the environmental benefits were of secondary importance.

Ian Hetherington Director General of the British Metal Recycling Association is of the opinion that the Government have failed to address their concerns that only 30 per cent of all Approved Treatment Facilities (AFTs) are being made accessible through the “end of life vehicle” regulations. Furthermore, the UK scrap industry is of the opinion that the Government has failed to clarify details of the car scrappage scheme including the scrappage and collection rules. The scheme begins on 18 May 2009 with the UK consumer also unclear as to the final details.

Ford forecasts that it will gain 20% of the car scrappage scheme market. The manufacturer has 130 ATFs and 20 collection points across the UK, which they believe is sufficient in accommodating the increased scrap volume once the scheme commences next week.

Cartakeback.com are the dismantling contractor to Ford and Manager Graham Price stated that car manufacturers are using their own contracted ATFs as these providers guarantee the 85% recycling compliance rate. Car manufacturers have the facility to ensure that this 85% recycling rate is being achieved by only nominating specific ATFs. A good percentage of the Government ATFs are yet to report their target achievements to the BERR, thereby making themselves less attractive to car manufacturers.

Hyundai is reporting that enquiries are up 400% at its dealerships since the scheme was announced, whilst Ford say that its car scrappage scheme section went live on its website, as many visits were received as to its most popular page within just a few days.

Similarly, Toyota are reporting ‘major increases in traffic’ to its website, Audi have noted significant interest in the scrappage scheme area of its website and Peugeot dealers are getting 60 to 80 more enquiries as well as a ‘massive increase’ in website traffic since the scheme was announced.

Nissan are seeing more visits to its dealerships since the Budget announcement although many of the visitors we trying to find the cheapest car possible. If this is the trend through the industry, it points towards the likelihood that stimulus will not be to the whole of the industry, but rather skewed towards the cheaper end of the market.

It is widely expected that May 18 is the date from which the scheme will commence, with an official announcement expected imminently.