London - The British government Monday announced the extension of a popular car scrappage scheme designed to entice people to swap their older models for a new vehicle. Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Mandelson told the Labour Party conference in Brighton that the scheme would be extended to cover 100,000 more cars and vans.
The government allocated an initial 300 million pounds (477 million dollars) to the programme, under which motorists receive a discount of 2,000 pounds if they exchange a car more than 10 years old for a contemporary model.
The programme came into force in May and was due to end next February. But it would have had to be ended early as funds were running out, according to the government and car industry.
