This is possible because of the way the German initiative was conceived. Germans are not forced to buy a new car in Germany in order to receive the 2,500 euro payment. Together with the almost 30 percent drop in value of the zloty, the incentive started pushing some of the 1.2 million Germans who applied for the bonus towards the Polish borders.
"Because of the zloty's favorable exchange rate against the euro, buying a car in Poland is more advantageous than buying the same vehicle in Germany. "It's not clear how long this will last, but judging from the most recent information this could last even to September," Przemyslaw Kromer, Deloitte manager was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.
Until now, this consumer behavior helped new car sales in Poland increase by 1.2 percent in the first quarter, reaching 88,000 units, according to data collected by research agency Samar. Buyers from Slovakia also contributed to the increase, as the Poles themselves didn't manage to cope with the crisis. Domestic consumers bought 6 percent less cars in the first two months of the year than in 2008.
The German scrappage incentive is one of the most successful one in Europe and has set an example followed by some countries, with various degrees of impact. As was to be expected, the German incentive caught on thanks to the large amount pay to the customers when trading in their old vehicle. Countries which offered less solved a smaller part of the problem.
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