In January 2023 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a new £110m scrappage scheme in the capital in order to help improve the air quality. Here I will go through what the scrappage scheme is, what the eligibility criteria is and just how EVision Electric Vehicles can help you.
If you are a sole trader, a charity or are a micro business with up to 10 people working for the company, then you’ll want to read on.
What is the Ultra Low Emissions Zone?
The Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) was first introduced in April 2019 with the principle purpose being to improve the air quality This restricted the type of vehicles that could operate within Central London without being charged. Amazingly, by the end of July 2019 there had been an incredible 20% reduction in the level of carbon dioxide in the London air. This is a scheme that clearly did exactly what was intended.
Further changes are coming in later in 2023 when the ULEZ area will be expanding to include every London Borough. With this change coming in August of this year, help for some businesses became a higher priority. This is especially as the zone is in force 24/7 with the exception of Christmas Day.
What is the Scrappage Scheme?
As stated at the beginning, the Mayor of London launched a scheme in January 2023 to help some businesses to cope with the changes in the ULEZ restrictions. This scheme will pay, for example, £7,500 if you have a van that does not meet the ULEZ standards and you want to change the van to an electric vehicle, either through renting or buying.
There are some qualifying conditions to meet in order to be eligible for the scheme, but they are pretty straight forward.
Qualifying Conditions
Firstly, to be eligible you will have to fall into one of three different categories:
Micro Businesses With:
- 10 or fewer employees;
- A turnover of no more than £632,000 or a balance sheet of up to £316,000 in the current and previous financial years;
- A Companies House registration as an active company or VAT registered within the 32 London boroughs or within the City of London.
Sole Traders Who Must Be:
- A self-employed person who owns and operates a business within the 32 London boroughs or the City of London.
Charities That Are:
- Registered with the Charities Commission as active within the 32 London boroughs or the City of London.
The van you use must be up to and including 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight. It must be registered with the DVLA in the name of the business, sole-trader or charity. If the vehicle is registered to an employee of a director of a micro business, you will need to provide confirmation of their link to the organisation. It must be insured for business use, certified with valid road tax and MOT and it must be ULEZ non compliant.
ULEZ Compliance and How to Find Out
As stated above, in order to have your van scrapped under the scheme, the vehicle must be non compliant with the ULEZ requirements. This is where things can get a little more complicated. However, it is easy to find out where you stand with your vehicle. All will be revealed here.
Rules for petrol and diesel vans are slightly different. For a petrol van to be compliant it must meet the Euro 4 standard. A petrol van registered from January 2006 will most likely meet the Euro 4 compliance and you probably won’t be able to participate in the scheme. If you have a petrol van registered before this date then it is not so clear.
With diesel vans you have to meet Euro 6 standard. As such, any vehicle bought after September 2016 will more than likely reach the Euro 6 standard and will not be eligible for the scrappage scheme. A van bought before this period will definitely need to be checked.
Thankfully, there is a very useful tool for checking the eligibility of a vehicle. Go onto the Transport for London page, here, and enter your number plate. This will tell you where your vehicle stands.
Replacement Electric Van
There are a few minor conditions to the electric van that you are going to take on under the scheme as well. These are:
- The van must weigh no more than 3.5 tonnes in gross vehicle weight;
- The van must be purchased or on hire for at least two years;
- The van must be of the same body type as the van you are having scrapped.
This third point in particular is no problem. EVision has a range of vans that we are able to supply to help your business needs.
How EVision Can Help You
As stated above, we at EVision will have a van for you. Below is a sample of some of our vans and an example of what you can save under the scheme.
The Renault Kangoo – This is a fantastic smaller van that can be used as a 2 or 5 seat vehicle. The standard cost per month of this wonderful van is £398.40 including VAT. If you were to participate in the scrappage scheme, you can hire the Renault Kangoo for just £85.90 including VAT per month over 2 years.
The Vauxhall Vivaro-e – This is a bigger van than the Renault Kangoo and has an excellent range on it. The standard cost for this van per month over a 2-year hire is £854.40 including VAT. With the scrappage scheme you can hire the Vivaro-e for £541.90 per month over 2-years of hire.
The Ford e-Transit – This is the newest van to join the EVision fleet. It is also the most well known brand name of any work van. The cost per month over a 2-year period is £939.60. However, if you take part in the scrappage scheme, you can hire the e-Transit for just £627.10 per month over a 2-year hire period.
If you want to find out more about the scrappage scheme, you can visit the TfL webpage here.
