One of the UK’s largest car makers has announced the launch of a new scrappage scheme, allowing motorists to exchange some of the country’s most polluting cars in exchange for money off new models.

Ford has said it will offer up to £7,000 off new vehicles, with any car or van registered 2009 or earlier eligible for scrapping as part of the scheme.

Andy Jackman, the general sales manager for the Ford Allen dealership in Swindon, said of the deal: “It is a fantastic offer from Ford – it shows that we are a forward-thinking company.”

“Some of the older vehicles do need to come off the road, the same as 10 years ago when it [the scrappage scheme] was first launched.”

The offer will be available on a range of vehicles, with discounts of between £2,000 for a new Fiesta and £7,000 off a Transit van.

Nationally, Ford’s UK boss is targetting hundreds of thousands of the most polluting cars on Britain’s roads.

Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said: “Ford shares society’s concerns over air quality.

“Removing generations of the most polluting vehicles will have the most immediate positive effect on air quality, and this Ford scrappage scheme aims to do just that.

“We don’t believe incentivising sales of new cars goes far enough and we will ensure that all trade-in vehicles are scrapped.

“Acting together, we can take hundreds of thousands of the dirtiest cars off our roads and out of our cities.”

An estimated 40,000 premature deaths a year are related to air pollution, and dirty air is linked to health problems including childhood illness, heart disease and dementia.

The government last month announced proposals to ban the sale of all petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040, as part of a long term aim to improve air quality in the UK.

Steve Gooding, the director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, described the announcement as a “shrewd commercial move by a company that has invested heavily in petrol and diesel technology”.

He said: “Ford is right that the very latest internal combustion engines are miles cleaner than their predecessors but without knowing where, when and how far the scrapped vehicles have been driven, it is impossible to calculate the scheme’s positive impact on air quality in those very specific urban areas when the problem is at its worst.

“A key feature is the offer of good deals on vans which are often key contributors to air pollution and carbon emissions.

“The acid test is whether the savings are enough to entice people and businesses who normally settle for second-hand vehicles to now trade up and buy new.”