A new £25 million scrappage scheme has been launched to take older cars and motorbikes off the streets of London.
The scheme has been launched by London mayor Sadiq Khan as part of a wide-ranging strategy to reduce CO2 pollution in the capital. It will be open to low-income and disabled car owners who live in Greater London.
It follows a separate £23m scheme for diesel vans launched last year and the city’s recently introduced Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which pre-Euro 6 diesel and pre-Euro 4 cars are charged £12.50 to drive in.
Under the new scheme, eligible drivers can scrap vehicles in exchange for a cash grant; £1000 will be given for scrapping a motorbike or moped and £2000 for scrapping a car.
In order to receive the grants, the scrapped vehicles must not meet ULEZ emissions standards. Owners must live within either the City of London or one of the London boroughs and also receive benefits. Vehicles must have been registered to the applicant for at least 12 months, be insured and have a current MOT and road tax.
The grant money can be used only to buy a vehicle that meets ULEZ standards.
The new scheme extends another scrappage programme, introduced in February, that offers similar grants to owners of diesel vans and charity minibuses.
Khan said: “Air pollution is a national health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leading to thousands of premature deaths. City leaders across the world are united in raising the alarm about the dangers posed by poor air quality.
“Our car and motorcycle scrappage scheme will enable low-income and disabled Londoners to scrap their older, polluting vehicles and switch to cleaner versions.”
Khan called on all drivers to “ditch their polluting cars” and “help clean [London’s] filthy air once and for all”.
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