Britain’s vehicle scrappage scheme to be introduced this month has “got to be longer” than its planned 10 months’ duration to be effective, Toyota’s head of European sales has warned.

Thierry Dombreval said the Japanese carmaker welcomed the £2,000 ($2,987) incentive announced in the Budget for consumers trading in old cars, and that similar schemes in western Europe would add 1m units to overall industry sales this year.