The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced an expansion of the ULEZ scheme that aims to remove the most polluting vehicles from London’s roads. To support the widening of the area the ULEZ affects, Khan has also announced a significant expansion of the scrappage scheme, which is now available to all Londoners with a non-compliant car or motorcycle.
From Monday 21st August:
Every Londoner with a non ULEZ-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant
Small businesses and sole traders will be able to receive up to £21,000 in grants to scrap up to three vans
Charities will be able to receive up to £27,000 in grants to scrap up to three minibuses
Also, from Friday 4th August:
Small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will receive increased payments of £7,000 (up from £5,000)
Grants for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles will increase from £5,000 to £10,000
Grants for scrapping Minibuses will increase from £7,000 to £9,000
Grants to Replace a non-compliant van with electric van increase from £7,500 to £9,500
Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus increase from £9,500 to £11,500
Retrofit grants increase from £5k to £6k, typically enough to cover the whole cost of retrofitting
The expansion of the scheme is being funded by £50m of City Hall’s reserves. This will bring the total scrappage funding up to a maximum of £160m that will see the scrappage scheme remain open for a significant time to come.
Low income and disabled Londoners have already had seven months to apply, and now the scheme will be rolled out on a first come, first served basis.
Most vehicle scrappage companies give customers money for their vehicle on top of the TfL grant – meaning people can often get hundreds of pounds more to scrap their car.
“I have always said that expanding the ULEZ to the whole of London was a difficult decision, and not one I took lightly – but it’s a decision I remain committed to seeing through,” said Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
“I’m not prepared to step back, delay or water down vital green policies like ULEZ, which will not only save lives and protect children’s lungs by cleaning up our polluted air but help us to fight the climate crisis.
“We need to take people with us on the path to a sustainable future. We are ensuring that help is now available for everyone – and I urge Londoners to come and get it.”
Currently, 90% of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already ULEZ compliant.
“We are now getting ready to expand the scheme London-wide on the 29th August, which will bring the benefits of ULEZ to a further 5 million Londoners living in outer London, where over half of the deaths attributable to air pollution occur,” said Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy and Policy.
“Nine out of ten cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already compliant with ULEZ standards and will not have to pay the charge.
“Alongside the scrappage scheme, a range of support offers are available for anyone making the transition to cleaner, greener transport, including savings on hire and subscription services for bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and e-scooters, and discounts on car clubs alongside many other deals.”
This news corresponds with data being released from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that there has been a huge surge in sales of used electric vehicles (EVs).
Sales of second-hand EVs grew almost 82% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2023.
Figures released by the trade association show more than 30,000 used battery EVs changed hands in the UK during the last quarter through to the end of July, taking EVs share of the second hand car market to 1.7%.
