Ford has rolled out a new scrappage scheme for the UK market as the company pushes for air quality improvement.
It was 2009 the last time the British public were urged to bin their car in exchange for a shiny new one, but almost ten years later Ford is bringing it back, all in the name of emissions reduction.
In an attempt to permanently remove the most polluting vehicles from UK roads, the scheme, which includes petrol and diesel vehicles, will see dealers offer between £2,000 and £7,000 off the price of a new car or van.
Available for any vehicle registered on or before December 31, 2009, data from SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders) shows that there are approximately 19.3 million eligible cars on UK roads.
Ford believes that based on the assumption of an average CO2 reduction of 48g/km, the scheme, which runs from September to the end of the year, could result in a 15 million tons CO2 reduction per year.
Andy Barratt, managing director of Ford of Britain, reiterated the company’s commitment to improving the environment: “Ford shares society’s concerns over air quality. Removing generations of the most polluting vehicles will have the most immediate positive effect on air quality, and this Ford scrappage scheme aims to do just that.”
With the introduction of the latest Euro 6 standard and new powertrain technologies, today’s cars are producing far fewer emissions than previous generations.
Since 1993, carbon monoxide production has been reduced by 63% in petrol vehicles and 82% in diesels. In the same time, the production of particulate matter from diesel engines has almost been eliminated, after a 96% reduction in 24 years.
This is in addition to a 50% fall in hydrocarbon production from petrol engines since 2001, as well as an 84% reduction in nitrogen oxides.
In a move that differentiates Ford’s newest scrappage scheme from that of 2009, Barratt has revealed that all trade-ins will be destroyed: “We don’t believe incentivising sales of new cars goes far enough and we will ensure that all trade-in vehicles are scrapped. Acting together we can take hundreds of thousands of the dirtiest cars off of our roads.”