Thousands of scrappage buyers set to take Hyundai home

There are set to be a lot of happy people with new Hyundai cars on their driveways this week. Confirmed orders from UK Hyundai dealers since the scrappage announcement have risen massively over the usual level for this time of year, with dealers reporting unprecedented demand.

Many Hyundai showooms are extending their working hours in order to process the orders, prepare the cars and ensure the new owners can take delivery at a convenient time.

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai UK’s managing director, said: “Scrappage has given an opportunity for 10 million drivers to upgrade their old car to a cleaner, safer and more reliable new car. Thousands of them are grabbing the opportunity and they are choosing Hyundai.”

The most popular model is the i10, especially the entry-level Classic trim or the new special edition ES. Scrappage prices start at £4,995, including air-conditioning and Hyundai’s famous five-year warranty.

The newly-launched i20 is in high demand too, as customers do their homework before buying and realise what a great package it offers compared to more expensive rivals. Scrappage prices start at just £5,995.

Hyundai’s Tilbury import centre is expected to process a record number of cars in May as it works to get all these new Hyundais out to dealers.

Thousands more cars have been ordered from Hyundai’s factories around the world to keep up with demand from buyers in the UK and avoid lengthy waiting lists.

Tony Whitehorn added: “Scrappage schemes have been running in Europe for a few months now, and we used our experiences there to make sure we were prepared for the sales boom in the UK. What came as a surprise though is that demand from non-scrappage buyers has also more than doubled in the past two weeks. It seems that people are getting in the car-buying mood, and they’re in the mood for a Hyundai.”