Diesel scrappage scheme could be launched 'within months'

A scrappage scheme for diesel cars could be introduced within months to lower emissions and improve air quality - a move that threatens to take thousands of future classics off the road. The move would see drivers given cash for trading in their diesels, similar to the Government-backed scheme that revived flagging new car sales in 2009 after the credit crunch.

The previous 'bangers for cash' initiative saw 392,000 vehicles crushed in return for a discount on a brand new car. It’s not the first time a similar scheme has been suggested for oil burners. Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson called for a diesel scrappage scheme in 2014 following an air quality report.

But while media sources have continued to report the story, the Department for Transport denies such a scheme is on the way.

According to the Telegraph, transport secretary Chris Grayling reportedly told industry experts that he supports plans for a diesel scrappage scheme during a private meeting earlier this month, but that it must be properly targeted.

Ten classics diesels in danger from the scrappage scheme

Grayling told the House of Commons, ‘We have to find the right way to migrate the nature of the cars on our roads and the vehicles on our roads to a point where they cause much less of a pollution problem than they do at the moment.’

The capital’s poor air quality has been a growing concern over the past decade, but earlier this month the city’s mayor called on people to stay indoors and avoid exercise after record toxic air quality levels were reported. And Westminster council has recently introduced a 50 per cent surcharge on parking for diesel cars in a bid to drive them out of the borough.

Mr Grayling told the BBC, ‘The irony is that a decade ago, because of concerns about carbon emissions, there was a drive towards diesel... that we now know has a different set of negative effects. The department for the environment is currently preparing, and will launch shortly, our strategy to take tackling the diesel problem to the next level.

‘There is no question that in the future we are going to have to move to lower-emission vehicles. We need to do it soon... I would like to see a migration of people away from current technologies to lower-emission technologies. We are providing incentives to do that now and we will be doing more in the months ahead.’