A DIESEL car scrappage scheme could soon see Brits earn up to £8,500 for their clapped-out old vehicles.
Anyone in the UK with a diesel car or van more than 10 years old is likely to be eligible to get whopping discounts off a low-emission replacement.
The Government is keen to rid Britain’s roads of diesel cars by 2030 and officials are considering copying an extremely successful French scheme, where drivers of the worst polluting cars are effectively handed up to €10,000 to switch to a new, super-clean model. More than 100,000 people in France now drive all-electric cars, which are now more popular in the country than hybrids.
A new UK diesel car and van scrappage scheme could be launched in the 2017 Budget
Officials from the Departments for Transport and the Environment are in advanced talks about the plan, which could be announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond as soon as the Budget on March 22.
Ministers are conscious that successive governments encouraged drivers to buy diesel until recently, wrongly believing they were better for the environment. As a result, the new scheme will incentivise diesel drivers to switch, rather than punish them.
It follows a hugely successful scrappage scheme for old cars introduced in 2009 which saw 300,000 drivers replace their car in the first year. Under that programme, designed to boost the car industry in the wake of the recession, motorists were given £1,000 from the Government – matched by car manufacturers – to change their vehicle. It boosted new car sales by as much as 26%.
The new scheme would be far more ambitious by seeking to replace the most-polluting cars in Britain with the very cleanest, with punchy discounts to match.
Read more: Express