Opel, Fiat-Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz have joined the growing number of German car manufacturers in launching trade-in schemes with incentives for owners of older diesel cars.
German news site Tagesspiegel also reported that Opel would be retrofitting Euro 5 and 6 standard cars with software that would reduce emissions.
The brand, formerly owned by General Motors but now part of the PSA Group, offers €7000 for owners trading in their Euro 1 to Euro 4 diesel car. The scheme will not be offered to UK customers, says a Vauxhall spokesman, although the brand does have a £2000 scrappage scheme currently on offer. This has been in existence since November last year.
The incentives start at €1750 for the Karl (Adam in the UK) and the maximum is €7000 for the Insignia. Unlike other German manufacturers’ trade-in initiatives, customers’ traded-in cars must be scrapped.
Mercedes offers a €2000 incentive for owners of Euro 1 to Euro 4 diesel owners trading in their cars for a hybrid or diesel Mercedes, or €1000 if they choose a pure-electric Smart Electric Drive model.
A caveat of the Mercedes scheme is that the owner of the car being traded in must have been the owner for at least six months, presumably to avoid owners profiting off the scheme by buying old diesels purely to trade them in. Owners will also receive a trade-in value of their car in addition to the changeover bonus, although those who trade in Euro 4 cars will likely receive a higher sum, as it will be based on a trade-in valuation.
Fiat-Chrysler is offering up to €6500 in its scheme, and applies to cars of Euro 4 standard or prior, either petrol or diesel. The discount applies across all Fiat-Chrysler brands, including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Abarth or Fiat's range of commercial vehicles. Discounts vary according to the car being bought, and the scheme ends on 30 September.
The spate of scrappage schemes are a result of a diesel summit held between manufacturers and the German government. BMW has expanded its trade-in scheme to the UK; Volkswagen Group is currently weighing up the proposal to bring its scheme to the UK.
Ford is also understood to be implementing a similar strategy in Germany. The brand’s Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi is currently under investigation by German authorities looking into allegations of an emissions cheat device.
Read more:
Is it time to say goodbye to diesel?
Hybrids exempt from Britain's petrol and diesel car ban
Will London's pollution problem spell the end of diesel cars?
Join the debate
Add your comment
I'm sure these schemes are
I'm sure these schemes are all about taking older diesels off the road and nothing whatsover to do with slowing sales growth whatsover.
Typical fanboi
Let the scrap wars begin!
Youre a poor, deluded victim
Youre a poor, deluded victim of marketing.
OK for BMW then?
Says the person who wrote "How many times do you have to be told that this offer is IN ADDITION to all other offers before it goes into your head" about the £2,000 offer by BMW only a couple of days ago