OTTAWA - The country's cars dealers say the federal government should beef up its program to get old clunkers off the road and encourage new auto sales.
The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association says a government program that pays $300 to people who scrap an old vehicle should be sweetened to $3,000.
The association, which represents 3,500 dealers handling all brands of cars and trucks, says European programs which pay more have boosted sales.
The dealers are also urging the government to do more to loosen credit so people can get financing for new cars.
They say a richer scrapping program would also pay environmental benefits as older, more polluting vehicles are junked.
Association president Richard Gauthier says the present $300 payment does little to encourage people to get rid of their vehicles.
"A $300 incentive is just not going to motivate anyone," he says.
A German program pays about $3,000 to those who scrap old cars and February sales of new autos in Germany were up 21 per cent, he says.
"Clearly, they're doing something right," he says.
February sales in Canada were down 28 per cent from a year earlier.
