Land Rover launched the all-new Freelander at the British Motor Show backed by a new carbon offset programme for all its models to improve the brand's green credentials.

The CO2 offset programme, being run as a pilot scheme until the end of 2008, means Land Rover customers will see a rise in the price of a new car of between £85 and £165 depending on model, from the start of next year.

John Edwards, Land Rover's UK managing director, said: "We're going to offset all the carbon produced by our factories and cars sold. This is in addition to the £1bn investment by Ford. This adds up to two million tonnes a year and we're going to invest in projects that save CO2. This is not carbon trading or planting trees.

"We're doing this with a company called Climate Care who are independent. Part of the total cost will be included in the on-the-road price, which means a rise of between £85 and £165 for the customer; we'll pay for the factory part. It means the car is carbon neutral for the first 45,000 miles. It's a demonstration of our social responsibility."

Meanwhile, commenting on the launch of the Freelander, which is expected to cost between £22,000 and £35,000, Edwards said there was "no three-door, so we won't have a van version from launch. However, we're not ruling out a commercial vehicle in the future."

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