French car dealerships brace for big crowds as scrappage scheme nears end
By Steph, 25 Dec, 2010. 0 Comments
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For car dealerships in France, the last week of the year would be a very busy one as customers are expected to converge in the showrooms in order to make their purchases before the scrappage scheme ends on Dec. 31. Renault anticipates that the orders for the market as a whole will surpass 300,000 units in December and that the Renault brand and its low-cost brand Dacia will get 100,000 of those. Guillaume Josselin, head of marketing for France at Renault, said that compared to December 2009, the sales for this December are already higher by 10-15%.
He predicts that the demand would remain exceptional between Christmas and New Year and so their sales forces have been reinforced since showrooms are expected to be full until the last day of the year. It’s difficult for potential customers to not know about the approaching deadline as carmakers have been boosting their campaigns.
Peugeot has the slogan: “Later will be too late" and Fiat is declaring: "The bonus is being scrapped." Car companies are offering supplementary bonuses of between four and ten times the government scrappage incentive. According to Olivier Veyrier, commercial director for France at Peugeot, the company doesn’t seek to get into a “price war” but only to take its share of the market. [via autonews - sub. required]
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