London Congestion Charge Changes - Goalposts Moved

Published Date: 4th May 2013

There’s a blow for many motorists looking to avoid the London congestion charge with proposals to change to a lower ceiling for CO2 emissions of 75g/km to avoid the charge, vehicles will also have to be Euro 5 Compliant or pure electric to avoid the congestion fee. The new scheme called The Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) will come into operation on 1st July 2013.London Congestion Charge

It’s thought the changes will generate an additional two million pounds per year in revenue for London.

The new ruling affects many individuals and companies who have invested in low emission diesels and hybrid vehicles like the very popular Toyota Prius and Prius+ hybrids are likely to be angry at what many will see as ‘moving the goalposts’ and to add insult to injury the penalty charge is also set to go up by £10 from £120 to £130.

The TFL (Transport For London) in a effort to appease motorists and businesses who have invested in low emission vehicles have given vehicle owners a grace period of 3 years. In other words if you had already purchased a new low emissions vehicles and registered for the GVD (Greener Vehicle Discount) you will still avoid the congestion charge until the end of June 2016.

The new stiffer regulations will mean the current vehicles on the market that will meet the new Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) requirements will be very limited with no dedicated petrol or diesel vehicles meeting the requirements at present. Only plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles that are range extended are expected to qualify.

For those of you that that are not subject to the London Congestion Charge there’s still plenty of reasons to buy a low emissions car with very good savings to be had on running costs with road tax exempt new cars and vans and of course excellent fuel economy on such vehicles as well.