Mercedes-Benz follows in BMW's footsteps with £2,000 diesel trade-in deal (but you won't get a discount on a petrol model)
- Offer is open to owners of Euro 1 to 4 diesel cars of any brand
- Mercedes will provide a discount of £2k towards a new diesel or plug-in hybrid
- Petrol cars are not eligible for the offer, with Mercedes pushing cleaner diesels
- You also get a discount on Smart electric cars, but only £1k when you trade-in
Mercedes will offer £2,000 off the price of one of their new greener diesel cars to owners of high-emissions older models when they trade in their vehicle.
The German premium brand has emulated rival BMW, which offered its own diesel-only discount incentive last week.
Called the 'Diesel changeover bonus', only Mercedes' latest diesel models and hybrids are eligible for the £2,000 saving - but the petrol-driven range isn't inclusive of the offer, pushing drivers to diesel cars that are becoming less popular in the face of impending toxin taxes.
'Diesel changeover bonus': Mercedes has followed in the footsteps of BMW buy offering discounts on new cars if you trade-in your old, dirty, diesel
Like BMW's offer, the trade-in discount is only applicable if you have a Euro 1 to 4 diesel car of any brand (not just Mercedes), though you only have to have owned it for a minimum of six months - whereas BMW requires keepers to have had theirs for at least a year.
Similarly, the offer is available until 31st December 2017, though the choice of models is far more limited than its rival executive car builder.
Importantly, conventional petrols are not inclusive of the discount, only Mercedes' current range of Euro 6 diesels, restricting buyers to the under-fire fuel type.
Following changes to VED in April and government-backed toxin taxes on diesels, sales of new oil burners have plunged, especially in the last four months.
According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, diesel sales were down 20 per cent year-on-year in July alone.
In the first seven months of 2017, new diesel car registrations were down 11 per cent - that's 84,724 fewer cars sold than in the same period of 2016.
The scheme runs until the end of the year and the old diesel you hand over can be from any brand, not just Mercedes or Smart
In comparison, petrol sales were 4.3 per cent higher while alternative-fuel vehicles - inclusive of electric cars and hybrids - were 41 per cent up.
Mercedes' offer does include it's existing - all be it quite small - range of hybrid cars, with the £2,000 subsidy offered alongside the existing Plug-In Car Grant funded by the UK government.
Smart Electric Drive models - which are the only pure electric cars in Mercedes' current line-up - are only up for grabs with half the full discount amount at £1,000.
The German brand said customers will be offered compensation for older Euro 1 to 3 diesels on top of the changeover bonus because their vehicles will be scrapped by the car maker.
The only pure-electric models in the Mercedes range are the Smart ForTwo and ForFour (pictured) Electric Drive, and these are only eligible for a £1,000 discount when you trade-in your old diesel car
Mercedes' current selection on plug-in hybrids do qualify for the Diesel changeover bonus
Euro 4 diesel won't be scrapped, meaning owners of these cars will receive a straight trade-in offer.
As reported earlier this week, the VW Group is expected to announce its own diesel incentive in the near future.
A spokesperson for the brand, which has come under intense criticism for the 2015 emissions-test cheating scandal, said a scheme would be launched 'shortly' after offering new incentives in Germany.
Owners of Euro 1 to 4 diesels - not just VW Group models - in Volkswagen's home nation are being offered trade-in bonuses for new VW and Audi cars, with discounts amounting to up to €10,000 (£9,022).
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