Transport for London announces congestion charge exemptions for electric vehicles.

Transport for London have announced the ultra low emissions discount will come into place in July

Transport for London (TfL) have announced that from the beginning of July, the Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) scheme will come into place. This means that all electric vehicles and vehicles that emit 75g/km of CO2 or less and meet Euro 5 emissions standard will have a 100% discount. This means that the CO2 threshold has now dropped by 25g/km from 100g/km to 75g/km. TfL claim that that the new scheme is designed to reduce the number of diesel vehicles on London's roads. The scheme aims to encourage Londoners to invest more in hybrid and electric vehicles.

At the moment, no petrol or diesel based vehicles emit lower than 75g of CO2

Presently, no diesel or petrol based vehicle emits fewer than 75g/km CO2. TfL have also announced it intends to bring into effect a 'sunset period' of three years for the outgoing Greener Vehicle Discount (GVD) scheme, given that a large number of Londoner's purchased low emission cars to benefit from the previous 100g/km exemption. This means that owners of vehicles registered under GVD before the 28th June 2013 will continue to be exempt from the charge until June 2016. Examples of vehicles that would apply under the new ULED scheme are the Vauxhall Ampera and Chevrolet Volt. TfL also announced two new changes in the congestion charge system: Londoners will no longer have the option to pay charges in shops and the penalty for not paying the congestion charge will increase from £120 to £130.