Audi has followed in the footsteps of Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen and extended its scrappage scheme into Q1 of 2018.

The German premium brand will continue to offer a contribution of between £2,000 and £8,000 towards the exchange of any pre-2010 diesel model for an Audi EU6 petrol, diesel or e-tron model until March 31, just a few days short of the extension offered by its Volkswagen Group stablemate.

A statement issued by the brand said: “The scrappage incentive is available to retail customers only and the new vehicle purchased must be registered in the same customer name or at the same address as the eligible vehicle being traded in.

“The offer applies to new Audi orders placed up to and including 31 March 2018 and registered by 30 June 2018, and is subject to vehicle stock availability.”

Diesel vehicles from all manufacturers registered before 2010 which fall within the EU1 to EU4 emissions categories have been eligible since September for the scrappage contribution.

Under the terms of the Audi programme all qualifying vehicles received in exchange are permanently taken off the road and scrapped.

The majority of new Audi models can be exchanged on this new-for-old basis, the brand said, with the exception of Q7 TDI, A8, R8 and RS models.

In the case of Audi’s low-emission A3 Sportback e-tron PHEV the total contribution is £7,500 if the £2,500 OLEV grant that is also separately available for this model is also factored-in.