Volkswagen drive to replace old diesel vehicles in Germany

The Volkswagen brand is expanding its exchange incentive for replacing older diesel vehicles to cover all of Germany from January 24 until April 30 this year.

When trading-in a Euro 4 or Euro 5 vehicle from any manufacturer, the bonus is paid in addition to the used car value. Until now, the incentive was reserved for customers in cities identified as particularly polluted by the federal government in order to improve air quality there as quickly as possible.

The exchange incentive for new vehicles ranges from €500 to €7,000, depending on the model. Jürgen Stackmann, Board Member for Sales and Marketing, said, “With the exchange incentive, the Volkswagen brand is offering all owners of Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesel vehicles very attractive conditions for switching to efficient new cars or nearly new cars with the latest exhaust gas technology.”

The environmental incentive for scrapping Euro 1 to Euro 4 diesel vehicles will still be paid all over Germany until further notice. Owners of Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesel cars from any manufacturer can benefit from the exchange incentive all over Germany until April 30 this year.

The incentive is paid in addition to the used car value and applies for new and nearly new cars of all fuel types. For nearly new cars, the incentive for the Golf, e-Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Golf Variant, Touran, Passat sedan and Passat Variant models is 75 per cent. For the remaining models, it is 50 per cent of the relevant exchange incentive for new cars.

Essentially, the environmental incentive applies for diesel vehicles when it comes to new cars. Car owners in particularly polluted cities and neighbouring districts can benefit from the incentive for new cars of all fuel types. In terms of nearly new cars, there is generally a choice of any fuel type.

The incentive for the Golf, e-Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Golf Variant, Touran, Passat sedan and Passat Variant models is 75 per cent. For the remaining models, it is 50 per cent of the relevant environmental incentive for new cars.

VW’s Deutschland Garantie (‘Germany Guarantee’), which has been available since April 1, 2018, will continue to be provided until June 30 this year at no extra charge whenever a new or nearly new car with a diesel engine is bought at a dealership.

It applies for three years after purchase and offers the customer, who might be affected by any driving ban in their place of residence or work, the option of exchanging their vehicle.

So far, more than 2,40,000 old diesel vehicles group-wide have been replaced with more modern and cleaner models.

Together with software updates for diesel vehicles, this reduces annual nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions by more than 10,000 tonnes. Independent studies have shown that fleet renewal is the quickest effective lever for improving air quality: In 2017 alone, 1.1 million new low-emission Euro 6 diesel vehicles entered the German market and replaced old vehicles.

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