Burton drivers will be able to trade in their ageing motors and vans for discounts of up to £7,000 thanks to a new scrappage scheme being offered by Ford.
From September 1, dealerships including the town’s Horninglow Street branch of TC Harrison Ford, will be offering a £2,000 scrappage scheme for pre-2010 cars, in a bid to remove dirtier vehicles from the roads and boost sales for the motoring giant.
Cash incentives are available on a variety of Ford models, from £2,000 for a new Fiesta to £7,000 for a Transit van.
Any car or van registered before December 31 2009 is eligible for the scheme, which runs to the end of the year.
Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said that Ford "shares society's concerns over air quality."
He said: "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.
"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 our roads and out of our cities."
After years of consistent growth based on cheap financing deals, UK car sales have dropped, with a nine per cent downturn in July blamed on a squeeze on lending and fears around Brexit.
Air pollution concerns, heightened by the VW emissions scandal, have also led manufacturers in Germany to offer large incentives to trade in the most polluting older diesels.
Air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK and is linked to health problems from childhood illnesses to heart disease and even dementia.
The Government last month announced proposals to introduce a "targeted scrappage scheme" as part of its court-mandated plans for meeting legal European Union limits on harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution, focusing on drivers who need most support, such as those on lower incomes or living next to a clean air zone.
Ministers also plan to ban the sale of all conventional diesel and petrol cars by 2040 and are considering funding measures to cut pollution with a tax on new diesel vehicles.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: "With the government pushing aside plans for a scrappage scheme until autumn, it is encouraging to see manufacturers doing their bit to implement such initiatives themselves. With the cost of motoring rising across the board, drivers should welcome any plans that reduce emissions and also save them money.
"While this is a step in the right direction, the offer is also only open until the end of December, so it will have a limited impact on removing polluting vehicles from our roads. A nationwide scrappage scheme is needed to make it cheaper and easier for all motorists to adopt greener vehicles and improve our air quality.
"While only drivers of pre-2010 cars can qualify for the Ford scheme, there are many ways they can save money while reducing their carbon footprint. Motorists should research online into ways they can drive more efficiently, such as by limiting their acceleration, driving in a higher gear and carpooling with others whenever possible."
