Car scrappage scheme UK 2023

A car scrappage scheme is designed to encourage you to swap your old car – which has high emissions and poor fuel consumption – for a newer car that's relatively clean and good on fuel.

But who came up with the idea of a car scrappage scheme, how exactly do they work and why might you consider making use of one? We'll answer all these questions in our expert guide to car scrappage schemes in the UK.

Why do car scrappage schemes exist? 

In very simple terms, a car scrappage scheme gives you a monetary incentive to trade in your old car for a new one, which will produce fewer nasty emissions and burn less fuel. You might even want to pick from one of the best hybrid cars. It's a great way to cut down on harmful exhaust emissions, although it should be noted that making new cars isn't exactly emissions free. Car scrappage schemes are also a handy way of stimulating a slowing economy – especially in the car business which is notoriously hard to make money in.

While car scrappage schemes had already been seen in France and Germany, the first time we saw one in the UK was in 2009 – a year after the financial crisis – when the UK Government put £300,000,000 toward the replacement of 300,000 old cars. In sales terms at least, the car scrappage scheme was deemed a success – increasing car sales by 25% on the previous year. 

How do car scrappage schemes work?

Let's use the 2009 scheme as an example. The UK Government wanted to get 300,000 old and polluting cars off the road and to do it, it pledged to put £1000 towards the sale of each replacement new car, with another £1000 put forward by the supplying car dealer. For you to qualify to make use of the car scrappage scheme, your car had to be ten years old or older and you had to have owned it for at least 12 months.

Will there be another Government backed car scrappage scheme?

The simple answer is: we don't know. The Government was said to be considering a scheme in 2020 but those rumours amounted to nothing. The current thinking is that drivers of the most-polluting cars (diesels built before 2016 and pre-2006 petrols) will be offered £3000 worth of public transport credits in return for their old cars, but this idea has still to be confirmed. 

TfL ULEZ car and motorcycle scrappage scheme

While there is no UK-wide scrappage scheme, Transport for London does offer its own limited option. To apply, you'll need to live in one of London's 32 boroughs and receive one of a number of benefits – such as universal credit, child tax credit, pension credit and working tax credit. 

If that sounds like you, you can apply for a grant of £2000 to replace a car that doesn’t comply to London's expanding Ultra Low Emissions Zone, with one that does. Any car that doesn't comply – so any petrol that doesn't meet Euro 4 and any diesel that doesn't meet Euro 6 emissions standards – will be required to pay £12.50 a day, any day it is used in the zone. 

Manufacturer scrappage schemes

While the Government might not plan to introduce a new car scrappage scheme anytime soon, many car manufactures – buoyed by the success of the 2009 sales figures – offer their own system, though they don't tend to be as generous as a government back scheme.  We run through them all, below.

Hyundai car scrappage scheme 2021

Hyundai will stick a significant sum towards one of its models if you trade it in for a car that you've owned for a least 90 days and that was first registered before 1 July 2012. Do that and the company will knock between £650 and £3000 off the price of one of its new cars. 

Fancy something sporty? Then you can have a Hyundai i30 N – the company's first (and very accomplished) attempt at a hot hatch – with £2500 off, or if you need something more family orientated, you can have up to £3000 off an all-new Tucson SUV or Hyundai's range-topping Santa Fe 7-seater SUV. The catch? You need to get your new registered before 31 December 2021 – best get moving...

Kia scrappage scheme 2021

What with Kia being a sister company to Hyundai, you'll be unsurprised to hear its cars are also being offered with some substantial car scrappage discounts. To qualify, you'll need to be able trade in a car that you've owned for 90 days and was registered on or before 31 March 2014. 

Armed with such a vehicle, you can get £2000 off a new Kia Picanto supermini or Rio small car, as well as £2500 off a Stonic SUV. Naturally, they all come with Kia's impressive seven-year/100,000 mile warranty. 

Lexus scrappage scheme 2021

Worried car scrappage schemes only apply to mainstream models? Well, take a chill pill will you, because right now you can dump your old duffer (a car you've owned for six months, registered before 1 October 2012) onto a Lexus forecourt and waltz away behind the wheel of the best Japan has to offer. That's right, if you have a qualifying trade-in Lexus will knock £3500 off its UX small SUV, or £4000 off the ES posh saloon, NX mid-size SUV and it's SUV flagship the RX and RX L seven-seater.

Mazda scrappage scheme 2021

Mazda adopts a novel approach to its car scrappage scheme that centres around cutting emissions, rather boosting sales. Thus, only its cars that produce emissions of 160g/km or less are an applicable replacement for a trade in (that was first registered on or before 21 December 2011).  

What does that leave you? Well, not a bad lot. Star of the show is undoubtably the MX-5 – a sports car we'd tire of waxing lyrical about were it not so blooming brilliant, it can be had with a hefty £3000 incentive chopped of its price. But discounts are available across the range including on the Mazda 2 small car (£2500), Mazda 3 family car (£3500), Mazda 6 large family car (£3000), Mazda CX-30 (£3000), Mazda CX-5 big SUV (£3000) and Mazda MX-30 electric car (£3000). 

Renault scrappage scheme 2021

Renault's 'new for old' offer is a car scrappage scheme of sorts although the car you're trading in doesn't have to be certain age, but you'll have to have owned it for at least 90 days. It covers all new Renaults, including vans. You stand to save up to £1250 on the Clio small car, £5000 on the Zoe small electric car and £2500 on the Captur small SUV. You can also save up to £2500 on the Megane – unusually, the biggest savings go to the sporty R.S. models, while you can get a decent £2250 of the Kadjar large SUV. 

Toyota srappage scheme 2021

Toyota will give you a discount of up to £4000 on one of its new cars if you have a trade that was registered on or before 30 November 2012 that you have owned for six months or more. The Aygo and Prius are currently being offered with a £2000 discount, while the Yaris has £2500. You can also get £3500 chopped off the RAV4 and Proace Verso. But the biggest discount goes to one of the biggest names in Toyota's repertoire - you can get £4000 off the Hilux.