Ford Moves to Put Cleaner Vehicles on U.K. Roads

LONDON – Ford joins Vauxhall, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in offering U.K. consumers a scrappage scheme to get them out of old polluting vehicles.

Unlike the two German manufacturers’ diesel-only schemes, Ford’s plan is similar to Vauxhall’s in that it is open to all engine types in vehicles produced before 2010.

The offer of between a £2,000 ($2,577) and £7,000 ($9,021) trade-in on a new Ford vehicle is available until Dec. 31.

Andy Barratt, managing director-Ford of Britain, tells BBC Television the move was not prompted by a drive to offset the slowdown in U.K. new-car sales over the past four months.

“This is about air quality improvement and not just a marketing ploy,” he says. “There are 19 million cars in the category that we have targeted here that, if you took them off the road, that’s equivalent to (emissions from) three coal-fired power stations.

“So there’s a big climate-change opportunity and this is the first step on our journey to improve air quality by taking a few thousand of those vehicles off the road, and at this point we are just testing customer reaction.”

Barratt also defends the scheme’s modest goals, saying: “It’s part of a longer journey that will include hybrids (and) electric vehicles. We are testing plug-in hybrid Transits in London later this year and it’s part of that 23-year journey to 2040 where the government has set its benchmark to change motoring forever.”

The U.K. government intends to ban the sale of all gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040.

Barratt also highlights the initiatives Ford already has taken in exploring alternative energy powertrains. “We have been selling a fully electric Focus in the U.K. for the past five to six years,” he says. “We have hybrids in the range and are the largest producer of hybrids in the world.

“We have listened to our customers and we employ around 100,000 people directly or indirectly in the U.K. and have 5 million people driving Fords on a daily basis. We have listened to them and are inviting those 19 million with old cars to join the debate and step forward.”

Barratt admits the deal does not include the least-costly car in Ford’s range, the Ka+ at £9,545 ($12,301), because of lack of supply. But the automaker is focused more on the sales-topping models of the New Fiesta, at £12,715 ($16,386), and the Focus from £19,635 ($25,304).