Ford has started its own version of cash for clunkers in Great Britain.
The automaker's U.K. arm is offering a 2000-pound (approx. $2,600) trade-in fee for cars originally registered in 2009 or earlier, and will send all of them straight to the scrap yard.
The deal is aimed at getting the most-polluting vehicles off the road, and applies to both diesel and gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
The move comes amid pressure from governments to reduce air pollution and end the sale of the most polluting types of diesel engines. Automakers are also rushing to adapt to new technology, such as electric cars, in part to address air quality concerns.
Andy Barratt, managing director of Ford in Britain, said that removing the most polluting vehicles would have an immediate and positive effect on air quality.
"We will ensure that all trade-in vehicles are scrapped," Barratt said. "Acting together we can take hundreds of thousands of the dirtiest cars off our roads and out of our cities."
Replacing old gasoline and diesel cars alone could save 15 million tons of CO2 annually, the company said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report