Vauxhall is offering a discount of £1,000 on its least polluting cars to customers that trade in their old banger to be scrapped.

The Europe-wide General Motors environmental initiative called ecoFLEX will also offer a £250 trade-in bonus to customers which don’t want their cars scrapped to encourage buyers to purchase one of its cleanest models.

Vauxhall believes the campaign could have a dramatic effect on emissions. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures, over 15 million cars currently on UK roads are seven years old or more; nearly nine million of these have passed their ninth birthday and over four million cars are more than 12 years old.

“Modern, low-emission vehicles can only help the environment when they also replace the old cars which still blight Britain’s roads,” said Jonathan Browning, Vauxhall’s chairman and vice-president GM Europe.

“We know that there are many drivers who would love to see their old car scrapped and replaced by a modern safe, fuel efficient, reliable and ‘greener’ vehicle, but they think they can’t afford it. Vauxhall will now assist them,” he added.

The incentives are available on the most fuel-efficient versions of Vauxhall’s best selling small and family cars until the end of August.

Customers scrapping their cars can choose from: the Corsa 1.0-litre petrol and 1.3 CDTi 75; Meriva 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3CDTi; Astra 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3CDTi and Zafira 1.6-litre petrol and 1.9CDTi 118bhp.