155,000 New Cars Ordered

Almost 155,000 new cars have been ordered through the government's scrappage scheme since it was launched in May, official figures show.

This means that more than half of the money set aside to fund the scheme has been spent. Almost one-fifth of the orders were made in the South East of England.

Analysts say the scheme contributed to the rise in UK car sales in July, which was the first increase in monthly sales since April last year.

Announcing the news, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the scheme was "a great deal for manufacturers and dealers, not to mention customers" and added "it had contributed to a 13.5% jump in car manufacturing."

UK car sales rose 2.4%, to 157,149, in July compared with the same month last year, the latest industry figures showed last week, but sales so far this year are still down 22.8% on the same period last year.

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