Volkswagen is planning to offer up to £1500 in discounts to UK retail customers trading in vehicles of any age for a few VW, as it tries to curb the repercussions of the emissions scandal, however fleets wishing to trade in old vehicles will not receive these offers.
The incentives will be rolled out on top of any existing discounts already offered by the vehicle giant to consumers.
“We have to treat fleets and retail customers differently, and this is designed to entice people into our showrooms,” A Volkswagen spokesman told BusinessCar.
The offers are set to last until the end of January 2016, and start at £400 on the Up city car, increasing to £1000 on the Golf, Passat, Beetle, Scirocco, Jetta, Touran, Tiguan, CC and electric vehicles, while it increases to £1500 on the Touareg and Sharan models.
The scheme follows on from a similar move introduced in America, where customers could get up to $1500 (£984) off existing models.
“Any manufacturer scheme is designed to react to trends in the market, and you could say this does the same. We think this is an attractive offer for existing owners,” a VW spokesman told BusinessCar.
Meanwhile, German industry regulator Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt announced it is conducting emissions tests on vehicles made by 23 different companies following the emissions scandal.
“Since the end of September, KBA has been investigating whether further manipulation of emissions, of nitrogen oxides in particular, is taking place in the market,” it said in a statement.
It is testing the following models:
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Audi A3, A6
BMW 3-series, 5-series
Chevrolet Cruze
Dacia: SD engine
Fiat Panda, Ducato LCV
Ford Focus, C-Max
Honda HR-V
Hyundai i20, ix35
Range Rover Evoque
Jeep Cherokee
Mazda 6
Mercedes C-class, CLS, Sprinter LCV, V-class
Mini Cooper
Mitsubishi ASX
Nissan Navara pick-up
Peugeot 308
Porsche Macan
Renault Kadjar
Smart Fortwo
Toyota Auris
Vauxhall Astra, Insignia, Zafira
Volvo V60
VW Golf, Golf SV, Beetle, Passat, Touran, Touareg, Polo, Crafter LCV, Amarok