UK car sales rise

New car sales in Britain jumped 38.9 percent in December, helped by a government-backed scheme subsidising the cost of buying vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Thursday. The number of new cars sold jumped to 150 ,936 last month compared with the level in December 2008 , SMMT said in a statement. They had soared by almost 58 percent in November as the global car industry recovers following the severe economic downturn. SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said that British sales were boosted in December by the so-called Scrappage Incentive Scheme and by consumers looking to avoid this month's increase in VAT, or tax levied on purchased goods. The scrappage scheme, which allows car-owners to trade in a 10- year-old vehicle for a 2 ,000- pound (2 ,218 ,000- euro, 3 ,189 ,000- dollar) discount on a new car, helped to realise almost two million registrations in 2009.