“Cash for clunkers” boosts Ford US sales

Car giant Ford says July’s US sales were up 2.3% from a year ago, helped by the government’s scrappage scheme.

The Ford group – which includes the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo brands – sold 165,279 vehicles last month.

The company said demand for its fuel-efficient cars together with the US government’s Car Allowance Rebate System was behind the rise.

“We had another strong month in progress before the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ programme started,” Ford said.

Ford is the only one of the “Big Three” US carmakers not to have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Last month, it reported a quarterly profit of $2.3bn (£1.4bn), although the profit was largely due to one-off gains related to debt restructuring.

The clunker programme gives owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,000 towards a new, more efficient model in exchange for their old vehicles.

Ford saw its shares rise 6.38%, at $8.51 following the results.

Retail sales – which don’t include government agency sales and rental car firm sales – rose 9% year-on-year, Ford said.

Source: BBC News