Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has joined the scrappage scheme scramble with the offer of a £4,500 discount on its Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid SUV.

Set to run until March 27 next year, the newly-launched scheme will aim to encourage the wider take up of ultra-low emission vehicles if customers agree to have their old trade-in vehicle scrapped.

The scheme follows in the tracks of similar recently re-launched drives offered by Ford, Citroen and Mazda.

It also follows the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s vow to offer low income and disabled Londoners the chance to swap into a lower emitting new vehicle with the extension of the capital’s £2,000 vehicle scrappage allowance scheme.

Mitsubishi’s scheme is open to any motorist who is able to trade-in vehicle registered before January 1, 2013.

The Japanese carmaker’s 6.9% APR PCP and HP finance offers are both available in conjunction with the scrappage offer.

Rob Lindley, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: “Moving to a new, ultra-low emission vehicle is an aspiration many people have but it’s a big financial step for many owners of older vehicles.

“Our scrappage offer, combined with competitive finance offers, puts a practical, versatile and low-emission vehicle within reach for many more people.

“If we were able to combine this offer with some form of compelling government-backed support for plug-in hybrids, it would all help put the government’s Road to Zero ambitions back on track.”

Registrations data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) earlier this month revealed that Outlander PHEV registrations were down 4% year-to-date to the end of October (14,355 in 2018 versus 13,785 this year).

Overall, Mitsubishi’s volumes are 18.7% to 14,297 (2018: 17,591) YTD.