New CV scrappage scheme launched in London

A new commercial vehicle scrappage scheme has been launched in London to help fleet operators meet emissions standards for the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which comes into force from March 1, 2021.

The scheme offers commercial fleet operators up to £15k to scrap a vehicle and replace it with one that meets the news standards, or to retrofit a diesel vehicle up to the cleanest Euro VI standards.

Over 100 organisations have already pre-registered interest in the scheme, which will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

The existing LEZ emissions standards set a limit for how much particulate matter (PM) a vehicle can emit in its exhaust gases. The new LEZ standards will require heavy vehicles to meet the cleanest Euro VI emissions standards for both PM and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) in order to avoid the daily charge, rather than the Euro IV standard currently required of vehicles of this type.

A Euro IV or Euro V (PM only) HGV, lorry, van or other specialist heavy vehicle over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight, or a bus/minibus or coach over 5 tonnes gross vehicle weight, being driven within the LEZ will pay £100. A £300 fine can be issued to an operator if its vehicle does not meet Euro IV standard (PM only).

Around £48m has been allocated to scrappage funding in the UK, to support schemes for vans, cars and motorcycles, as well as the new heavy vehicle scrappage scheme.

The van scrappage scheme ran for 18 months, which Transport for London (TfL) says helped take 5,000 non-compliant vehicles off its roads, replacing them with Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) compliant vehicles.