The old 2009 rebate program isn't one of the options to turn this crisis around.
As you should have observed by now, the automotive industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic due to a huge drop in demand and production halt, which translates of course to a substantial decrease in sales. It is projected that by the end of the year, sales will drop by as much as 30 percent compared to the 17 million cars sold in 2019.
In a letter obtained by Automotive News, lawmakers, most notably those who represent auto states such as Michigan and Ohio, are obtaining support from the rest of the Congress to include aid for the auto industry in the legislative proposals in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Automotive News report, several industry and government officials are looking into federal programs to provide incentives to customers to encourage them to visit showrooms after the pandemic.
The Coronavirus Effect:
However, 'Cash for Clunkers' isn't part of those measures – or at least they won't be something like the old $2.85 billion incentive program.
If you can recall, the Cash for Clunkers program, or officially the Car Allowance Rebate System, was implemented in 2009. The system gives customers as much as $4,500 to trade in their old vehicles for brand new ones. It was popular back then, which resulted in almost 700,000 old cars getting traded in from July to August 2009.
Several automakers have implemented promotions and offerings amid the pandemic to entice consumers to purchase a vehicle amid the pandemic, but even so, it won't be easy for them to shell out cash during these times.
Although Cash for Clunkers is out of the table, a lot of other ideas are underway and we can only hope for the best.