Spain is extending its subsidies for new-car purchases — credited with reversing a slump in sales — for the rest of the year and into next year
The government will provide an extra 40 million euros (US$60 million) for the program, making it easier for consumers to buy an additional 80,000 vehicles, Sebastian told a news conference.
“The budget for 2010 sets aside an envelope of cash, which allows the program to be prolonged in 2010,” he said.
Under the so-called Plan 2000E introduced in June, car buyers in Spain get a 500 euro subsidy from the central government, another 500 euros from their regional government and 1,000 euros from the auto maker when buying a new car.
The measure — similar to others in several European countries — had an initial budget of 100 million euros that, Sebastian said, was almost completely used up.
It is part of a wider package of stimulus measures introduced by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to revive the Spanish economy, which the IMF predicted would shrink by 0.7 percent next year after contracting 3.8 percent this year.
Spain entered recession at the end of last year as the international financial crisis hit an already weakened building sector — the national engine of growth for the previous decade.
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