Germany expands car-scrapping scheme

The German government increases the budget for its car-scrapping plan with goal of turning over up to two million cars, not just 600,000. The government will triple the amount of money it originally set aside from 1.5b to 5b euros under a program which has been welcomed in the country. The new car purchase incentive scheme came amid signs that the German economy still suffers from the contraction of international demand, as new figures show the country's exports continued to fall for the fifth month in a row. The 2,500 euro bonus is for car owners who scrap cars at least nine years old and buy new ones. It was set up earlier this year in order to boost the country's auto industry as part of a wider 50b euro economic stimulus. The number of applications for car-scrapping in Germany increased by the end of last week to 1.2 million. The government meanwhile announced that the program would be expanded, but has not yet clarified the details. The German car industry, like those in many other countries, has been attempting to deal with a decrease in sales during the economic recession. Scrapping schemes are now in operation in Austria, Portugal, Italy, Spain and France, while the UK is reportedly looking into a similar program.