The German 'Big Three' Are Setting Up Their Own Diesel 'Scrappage' Scheme - But Only In Germany

BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler are setting up their own ‘scrappage’-style scheme in Germany. The programme will see owners of Euro 4 or older diesels offered up to €2000 on top of their car’s trade-in value if they switch to one of their own brand new cars.

The companies themselves will subsidise the extra payments, not the German government. It’s not actually clear whether the older, traded cars would be scrapped or just sold on to smaller, independent dealers or auction houses, as they are today.

There’s no suggestion that other European countries will benefit from this, sadly, so the gains are limited to Germany for now. But it’s possible that countries like the UK might start to push harder for a diesel scrappage scheme now that Germany’s car makers have stepped up to their responsibilities.

In related news, BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler, which owns Mercedes, have agreed to tweak the emissions of 5.3 million cars in Germany alone. The Euro 5- and Euro-6-standard cars will get software updates that cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 25-30 per cent. Millions of these cars have already been seen to.

Via: Auto Express