The much-hyped scrappage scheme has failed to help Britain’s businesses which are traditionally responsible for buying almost all vans, according to ACFO, the representative body for car and van fleet operators.

Van sales were down more than a fifth last month and have declined more than 40% this year, again almost entirely due to businesses not replacing existing vehicles.

The recession has resulted in many companies extending vehicle replacement cycles by a year, meaning that the Government’s push to encourage the uptake of lower emission vehicles has effectively ‘lost’ a year.

ACFO director Stewart Whyte said: “The scrappage scheme was launched in haste and amid much lobbying from the motor manufacturers and retailers.

"But it has helped only one sector – private buyers who are in the minority when it comes to buying vehicles. The scheme has done absolutely nothing to encourage businesses to renew their company cars and vans.”

In April at a pre-scrappage scheme meeting held at the SMMT, ACFO said that the whole UK new and used car market must benefit from any Government-funded scheme.

ACFO wanted to see:

  • Scrappage scheme to apply to new and used vehicles up to four years old.
  • Sliding scale of scrappage scheme payments linked to age of vehicle being purchased.
  • Priority to replace many older Government-operated units as ‘real’ sales.
  • Scheme in place for a pre-determined period of time.
  • Whyte said: “The Government chose to ignore our pleas. We had a short-term scheme which appears to have worked well, but has only benefited the retail buyer and the dealer networks.

“Many businesses have yet to see any signs of the much-talked-about green shoots of recovery.

“With finances remaining under pressure and no incentive scheme to take advantage of, many fleets are simply not in the market for new vehicles and are being forced to run older vehicles.”