A scheme which encourages owners of old, pollutive diesel vehicles to replace them earlier will be extended for the final time to 31st July 2017, reported The Straits Times.
The so-called Early Turnover Scheme, which was introduced in April 2013, gives allowances to owners of Euro 1 or pre-Euro vehicles if they scrap these pollutive vans, trucks and buses earlier. It allows owners to transfer the unused period of their vehicle's Certificate of Entitlement (COE) to the replacement vehicle. A bonus COE period for the replacement vehicle, which is proportional to the existing vehicle's remaining 20-year lifespan, is also granted. This is provided the new vehicle meets at least Euro 5 standards.
That scheme was supposed to expire in April 2015, but in 2014 it was extended to last Saturday. Last August, the scheme was expanded to include Euro 2 and 3 vehicles. This expanded scheme will also expire on 31st July 2017.
When it was launched in 2013, the scheme was slow in taking off because fleet owners found the calculations for grants hard to understand. Those who understood it found the incentive unattractive. But when the scheme was revised in 2014, the response improved substantially. Today, the bulk of diesel commercial vehicle sales is fuelled by the scheme - which allows buyers to get a new vehicle without having to bid for a fresh COE.
