The scrappage scheme extension by £100 million has been met with little fanfare by dealers according to HPI.

Daniel Burgess, director of automotive at HPI, said: "The first time the scrappage scheme was announced, the industry seemed excited, but the extension has been met with little fanfare.

"The qualification for the scheme now includes cars registered on or before February 29, 2000 and the qualifying time for light vans has been reduced to eight years. This means dealers should be queuing up to bag extra sales, however that’s not the overall feeling."

Burgess believes it’s possible the extension has not received enough publicity or that the profit on new car sales has proven to be less than hoped.

He said: "However, in a tough market, a small margin is better than no margin at all.

"The scrappage scheme is an opportunity to boost new car sales and with that comes the ability to up sell service and maintenance programmes, which will provide longer term revenue opportunities, ultimately helping dealers boost customer loyalty and retention."