THE GOVERNMENT says that it is ready to launch a third round of the car-scrapping bonus if the need should arise - but Prime Minister Robert Fico said he does not expect that to happen anytime soon.
“Should there be a deepening of the crisis, we would have to search for other options and take other measures,” the SITA newswire quoted Fico as saying. “At the moment it’s not necessary, considering the numbers the automotive plants are presenting to us.”
Fico said that car dealers are selling cars for prices similar to those that they offered when the car-scrapping bonus was paid to buyers.
Since the number of cars sold on the Slovak market doesn’t influence the Slovak economy much it is important that Slovak car producers are able to export their products to western Europe, Fico said.
The state supported the purchase of a new car at the concurrent scrapping of the old one within two rounds of scrapping scheme.
During the first round, which lasted from March 9 to March 25, a total of 22,100 old cars were scrapped in Slovakia. The second scrapping round ended on April 14, and scrap yards accepted an additional 22,100 vehicles for scrapping.
17. Aug 2009 at 0:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
