Cash for Clunkers Out of Money Within a Month

The $3 billion package approved by the United States government for the Car Allowance Rebate System might get spent in one month, Ford Motor Co.'s chief economist said when talking about the results of the scrapping bonus. Ford now expects the money to be enough for around 700,000 vehicles, with the high consumer interest shown in the first days likely to continue until the program is closed.

"The numbers on the cash-for-clunkers program have been really blockbuster," Ellen Hughes-Cromwick told reporters today. "People were waiting for this program to start."

Ford is one of the carmakers who benefited the most from the US CARS. Total sales, including fleet, amounted to 158,838 units in July 2009, up 2 percent over a year ago. Most models posted sales increases, as it follows: Ford Fusion up 66 percent, Mercury Milan up 60 percent, Ford Escape up 94 percent, Mercury Mariner up 71 percent, Ford Focus up 44 percent and Ford Ranger up 65 percent.

Furthermore, figures provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed that Ford Focus is the best selling model in the entire scrapping scheme, with four of the top 10 best sellers belonging to Detroit Three.

“We had another strong month in progress before the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program started,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service.

“Our products, our dealers and our advance preparation enabled us to leverage the program and drive traffic and sales to another level,” he added. “In addition, we achieved a sales increase even though we decreased incentive spending in an increasingly competitive environment.”