According to a February article published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the European car market may be getting a bit of a boost thanks to fleet renewals and scrapping incentives.

The first scrappage program was launched in Germany back in the beginning of 2009 in which car owners were encouraged to get rid of their old cars or “scrap” their old cars in exchange for purchasing newer vehicles. The thought behind this was that in exchange for a less fuel efficient, more pollutant-prone vehicle, people could instead buy more environmentally friendly vehicles. After Germany experienced success with the program, other European countries began to follow suit.

And it’s working. The WSJ published the following statement:

“Germany was the only major market to decline, with results reflecting the discontinuation of the country’s fleet renewal program in the autumn of last year,” the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement. Registrations, a measure of sales, last month climbed 14% in France, 18% in Spain, 30% in the U.K. and 30% in Italy. [source]

Kudos to Europe for figuring out something that actually works. Now, how about the United States? Any suggestions?

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