If you’ve got a seven-year itch on your car and fancy a new small set of wheels - Kia is one of the latest car dealers to offer a scrappage scheme.

Fuelled by a need to lower emissions, Ford was the first to launch a scrappage scheme last month, offering up to £7,000 off a new vehicle for owners of any car or van registered before December 2009.

Volkswagen and Toyota announced diesel scrappage schemes, joining BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Vauxhall to persuade customers to swap older, more polluting, cars for new ones.

But Kia, which has a dealers in Paddock, says its scheme applies to all versions of the low-emission Picanto and Rio ranges and is guaranteed as long as the buyer of the new car is also the owner of the car being scrapped.

Kia’s President and Chief Executive Paul Philpott said: “Both the Picanto and Rio have dramatically improved emission levels compared to the previous models by as much as 73g/km, so owners of cars over seven years old can get the latest safety equipment, technology and comfort as well as helping reduce emissions and saving a good amount of money.

Kia Longley Park managing director John Waite added: “This is a simple and effective scheme. We look forward to welcoming more people from Huddersfield to Longley Park to trade in their cars for the low-emission Picanto and Rio ranges.”