NEW DIESEL INCENTIVE SCHEMES

If you’re driving an older diesel car now might be the time to trade it in for a new, more efficient one. As pressure mounts on car makers to do more to prevent air pollution in Europe, a host of incentive schemes to encourage the trade-in of older diesel cars have been announced in Germany and the UK. These come at time when Britain and France have plans to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 as part of an effort to reduce carbon and polluting emissions; even the Chinese are prepared to set a date for the end of combustion engine cars. Some German car makers have extended this programme to Ireland. So what is on offer?

BMW

Deal offered: Increase trade-in value of your old car to €2,000. Who can qualify? The allowance is offered to all vehicles (from any brand) that have diesel Euro 4 engines or below and the trade-in vehicle has been owned by the customer for at least 12 months. Cars to which the offer applies: New BMWs emitting less than 130g/km of CO2, hybrid or electric models. When does the offer expire? 31 December, 2017.

Mini

Deal offered: Increase trade-in value of your old car to €2,000. Who can qualify? The allowance is offered to all vehicles (from any brand) that have diesel Euro 4 engines or below and the trade-in vehicle needs to have been owned by the customer for at least 12 months. Cars to which the offer applies: New Minis emitting less than 130g/km of CO2, hybrid or electric models. When does the offer expire? 31 December, 2017.

Mercedes

Deal offered: €2,000 discount on new model. Who can qualify? The allowance is offered to all vehicles (from any brand) that have diesel Euro 4 engines or below. Cars to which the offer applies: Any new diesel or petrol Mercedes powered with EU6 emission-standard engines or a plug-in hybrid model and the trade-in vehicle has been owned by the customer for at least six months. When does the offer expire? The order must be placed by 31 December 2017 and the new vehicle must be registered before 31 March 2018.

Volkswagen

Deal offered: From €800 to €6,500 — against a range of Audi, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen passenger cars and Volkswagen commercials. Who can qualify? The deal is open to owners of any make with a Euro 1-4 emissions standard diesel passenger car and the trade-in vehicle has been owned by the customer for at least six months. Cars to which the offer applies: Lower emission models in the VW Group range. When does the offer expire? 31 December, 2017. How many cars are eligible? According to Cartell.ie there are 474,624 diesel cars on the road that are (Euro 4) or below that would be eligible for such schemes.