Category Archives: Congestion Charge

Best electric car discounts: how to save money on a new EV

May 5, 2023Buying/Leasing, Congestion Charge, Cost of ownership, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

It’s currently possible to save up to £4188 on a new electric car. And you don’t even have to haggle, thanks to our free New Car Buying service…

Electric cars have been hugely popular and demand has traditionally been so strong that discounts on them were virtually impossible to find. That has started to change, though, with the average saving on an electric vehicle (EV) now standing at 3.1% or £1805 per car. That’s up more than 25% year on year.

The catalyst for the discounting was Tesla’s big price reduction of its models in January 2023. A number of other factors have also had an influence on prices, including the slowing of new car sales due to the cost-of-living crisis, a drop in resale values of EVs, and the impending Government directive that 22% of all cars sold by manufacturers must be all-electric from next year.

Even though electric car sales are growing more rapidly than those of other fuel types – with registrations up 18.8% compared with 18.4% for petrol models – the discounts available on them are also increasing, according to data compiled by What Car?’s Target Price team.

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Which cars are Ulez compliant as London zone is set to be expanded? From Nissan Leaf to Honda Jazz

February 15, 2023Congestion Charge, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, PollutionRepost

Cars that meet certain emission standards are exempt from the £12.50-a-day levy

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) will be extended to all of London’s boroughs in an effort to promote public health and clean up the city’s air from August 29, 2023.

The Ulez was launched in 2019 and expanded to cover the inner boroughs in October 2021.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand it further has provoked mass opposition, but he has vowed to press ahead with his plans. “I don’t want anyone to come to our city and breathe in poison.” he said on Monday.

The initiative means that 15 per cent of vehicles registered in the new outer London zone, about 200,000 at present, will be liable for a £12.50-a-day levy.

But an estimated five million Londoners will breathe cleaner air, according to City Hall. This is due to the likely impact of a city-wide zone further accelerating the switch to cleaner vehicles in the suburbs.

More than 96 per cent of cars in the existing zone, which extends to the inner boundaries of the North and South Circular Roads, comply with the exhaust-emission rules and do not have to pay the 24/7 charge.

But which cars are Ulez compliant and what does the acronym mean?

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TfL to increase scope and cost of Congestion Charge from June 22

July 3, 2020Congestion Charge, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed it will introduce temporary measures to increase the cost and scope of the London Congestion Charge from June 22.

From June 22 the CC, which covers around 1% of Greater London, will temporarily increase to £15, operate 07:00-22:00 seven days a week and the residents’ discount will be closed to new applicants on August 1.

Previously the CC did not operate on evenings and weekends and vehicles were charged £11.50 to enter.

It has not made it clear how long these temporary measures will be in place.

TfL said traffic levels in London are already back to pre-lockdown levels and that without widening the scope of the CC, traffic could double as many avoid public transport to commute.

TfL said these temporary changes will reduce traffic in central London and enable more journeys to be made safely by foot or by bike while keeping the bus network reliable for those making essential journeys.

Alex Williams, TfL’s director of city planning, said it will not be sustainable for London’s recovery from Covid-19 to be dominated by cars.

He said:

“We are already seeing a surge in traffic and need to act now to stop the city grinding to a halt.

“The temporary Congestion Charge changes are supporting our Streetspace programme, which will make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle and keep the bus network reliable for those who need to use it.

“Our new reimbursement schemes will also ensure that those at the heart of the battle against coronavirus or who could be most affected by it can still make essential journeys by car.

“These temporary changes will also help ensure that those who can’t work from home can travel safely and make the city’s recovery from the pandemic sustainable and healthy.”

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£12.50 London Ultra-Low Emission Zone expansion confirmed

June 20, 2018Congestion Charge, Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, PollutionTrevor Larkum

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed the London Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be expanded to reach the North and South circular roads from 25 October 2021.

It will be an expansion of the upcoming central London ULEZ, which goes live in April 2019.

Non-compliant vehicles will be charged £12.50 a day to enter the ULEZ – and, unlike the London Congestion Charge, fees apply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Controversially, the ULEZ is particularly onerous for diesel car drivers. Only vehicles meeting Euro 6 emissions standards, introduced in 2014, will be exempt from the charge. The rules are more lenient for petrol vehicles; only those that don’t meet Euro 4 standards, introduced in January 2005, need to pay the charge.

It means that by 2021, says the Mayor of London’s office, petrol cars aged up to 15 years old will be exempt from the charge – but only diesel cars no more than six years old will escape it.

Expanding the 2019 central London Ultra-Low Emission Zone in 2021 will see it become 18 times larger. The Mayor’s office estimates this will affect 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries a day.

London ups congestion charge on older cars

March 24, 2017Congestion Charge, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentJo

Brexit be damned. In an effort to comply with European Union pollution regulations, London says that later this year it will begin levying a £10 (about $12.50) charge on older cars if they want to drive in the city’s core.

Though not an outright ban on cars, the fee is a step toward creating the

“toughest emission standard of any major city,”

said London mayor Sadiq Khan in a release issued to members of the media.

London plans to implement the new charge on October 23, 2017, the 14th anniversary of the city’s first congestion fee. The city estimates that the fee will apply to about 10,000 vehicles driven into central London on weekdays.

The new “T-charge” is in addition to a £11.50 fee (£10 with automatic payments) that is already collected on all cars driven into central London between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays. While the existing charge applies to nearly all motor vehicles, the T-charge will be levied on cars that do not comply with at least the Euro-4 emissions standards. Broadly speaking, Euro-4 cars date from 2005 or later.

That’s not to say that the new T-charge is not without its detractors. The Telegraph calls it

” a tax on the city’s poorest motorists.”

Khan has also said his administration is investigating a diesel scrapping scheme to pull older, polluting vehicles off of the road and that it is accelerating plans for a separate Ultra Low Emissions Zone that would charge an even larger amount of money to higher emissions vehicles.

Source: The Car Connection