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There's nothing like a motor show to help you forget about the economic down-turn.
Car makers plan for the long-term, even if their sales operations are a little bit nervous about hitting their year-end targets.
The London motor show was awash with new low-emission cars, and those manufacturers that didn't have something on display were full of promise of greener things ahead.
Perhaps this is why Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened the show and took a look around - talking to several senior industry executives about the future.
It was great to see the PM taking an interest (rival political parties weren't in attendance). But his reiteration of the statement that we should all be driving electric cars by 2020 and announcement of £90m to help this (see page 9) shows a lack of understanding.
Yes, all eco-funding should be welcomed, but the business car industry is all too aware that one-off grants are counter-productive following the LPG funding debacle a few years back when the grant created a false market for LPG cars. When the funding ran out, the market collapsed.
Perhaps the money would be better spent taking older - more polluting - vehicles off the road, using the grant to subsidise the newest greenest cars. Not only would this help the environment, but also stimulate the economy.
My proposal? A £500 subsidy if you buy a sub-120g/km car and destroy your old banger, rising to £1000 for a sub-100g/km car.
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Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
