More than one in five vans (21%) across FleetCheck’s user base would not comply with London’s ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ).

Pre-Euro 6 vans will face a daily charge of £12.50 to operate within London’s expanded ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) from August 29.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet management software specialist, said that the figures give an indication of how many businesses could potentially be affected by the expanded ULEZ.

“To be clear, this is a figure that shows the proportion of non-compliant vans across our entire national user base, not just within the ULEZ,” said Golding. “But it does indicate that a substantial minority of fleets are still operating pre-Euro 6 vans - and there is no real reason to believe this is not happening within the ULEZ zone in the same way as elsewhere.

“This is especially the case given the widespread extensions in replacement cycles that have been taking place since the pandemic.

“We now have many fleets that are operating at least a few vans that are 7-8 years old and will therefore probably be non-compliant.”

He added: “Of course, it is likely that there are many more vans of this type being run by sole traders and microbusinesses that fall outside of the mainstream fleet industry and would not be included in our data, so the proportion of non-compliant vans that will be affected by the ULEZ extension could be quite a lot higher than one in five.”

Transport for London (TfL) says that nine out of 10 cars and eight out 10 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) seen driving in outer London already meet the ULEZ emissions standards.

The most obvious strategy for tackling the extended ULEZ, according to Golding, is for companies that operate in the zone to swap compliant and non-compliant vehicles to ensure that the right vans are in the right locations.

“We know of several fleets that have done this, but it is an option that is only open to those with wide geographical coverage and relatively large fleets,” he continued.

“For all others, the only solutions are to pay the ULEZ charge or buy a compliant vehicle and neither of those options are cheap.”

Last week, the ULEZ scrappage scheme was expanded, with all Londoners now eligible and payments to van fleets increased.

The scrappage payment for vans has increased from £5,000 to £7,000, while grants to replace a non-compliant van with an electric van, increase from £7,500 to £9,500.

Small businesses and sole traders are able to scrap three vans or minibuses.

In addition, payments to fleets retrofitting vehicles increase from £5,000 to £6,000.

Additional support is also available to charities, with payments available for minibuses increased from £7,000 to £9,000, while disabled Londoners see wheelchair adapted vehicle grants double from £5,000 to £10,000. 

London’s ULEZ currently covers an area between the North and South Circular roads but is due to be expanded across the entire capital from August 29.

Drivers of affected vehicles who do not pay the £12.50 daily charge will face a fine of up to £160.

To comply with the ULEZ, petrol cars and vans must be Euro 4 and diesel cars and vans must be Euro 6. Motorcycles and mopeds must be Euro 3 to comply.

Golding said: “We are highly sympathetic with the aims of the ULEZ – everyone deserves to live in a place where the air is safe to breathe – but its introduction is potentially hitting businesses just when they are under quite a lot of economic pressure, and when both new and compliant used vans are in short supply. It’s unfortunate timing.”