The road transport industry has urged the government to introduce a vehicle scrappage scheme in the Budget in order to drag hauliers and dealers out of the recession.
With the Budget less than a week away (it will be unveiled on 22 April), a proposal to give owners of old vehicles approximately £2,000 towards the cost of greener models is believed to have the backing of the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, but it is yet to receive Treasury support.
Robin Dickeson, manager of commercial vehicle affairs at the Society of Motor Manufactuers and Traders, tells CM that while the scheme is being discussed, predicting details is "fraught with danger".
He adds: "We are fairly confident this would stimulate van sales, and if it gets also car sales going, it would start to boost confidence, but, genuinely, 
we have had no indication if it is specifically going to happen."
Dickeson stresses that the benefits of the scheme would be felt throughout the entire automotive industry supply chain and, as a result, would boost business for hauliers.
John Stocker, business development manager at Acumen Logistics, which works for first-tier automotive suppliers, says he would welcome any scheme that helped increase the sales of cars across the UK.
"The only issue is looking at which cars are actually built in the UK. Most cars are imported, and a lot of suppliers for UK-assembled cars are based in Europe, but anything that helps will be good for the industry as it works its way down the supply chain."
A scrappage scheme has already gained the support of the Road Haulage Association ('RHA backs scrap scheme' CM 9 April), which says "any demand uplift would feed through as a stimulus to haulage operations".
The British Vehicle Rental and 
Leasing Association has called on the Treasury to ensure that any scrappage scheme includes an incentive to purchase used vehicles of at least Euro-4 standard that emit no more than 165g/km of CO2.
For live coverage of the Budget and reaction on how it will affect you, log on to www.roadtransport.com on 22 April.