Why is the Mayor turning back the clock on e-vans?

A £9 congestion charge for delivery vehicles will prompt many small companies to cut bills by ditching their EVs.

- By Jonathan Prynn

London has made huge strides in cleaning up its air since Oxford Street was named the world’s most polluted road as recently as 2013.

Notorious pollution hotspots such as Putney High Street once breached annual legal limits for diesel-related emissions just a few days into January but now stay compliant all year round.

For that the Mayor can rightly take some credit, for greening London's bus fleet and for encouraging and supporting black cab drivers to swap diesel for electric taxis.

But in one area there has been much more painful progress — delivery vans. The UK lags behind other western European countries in the uptake of electric vans.

According to Oliver Lord, who leads the Clean Cities Campaign in the UK, diesel freight vehicles — especially vans — are now the biggest road transport contributor to harmful NOx emissions in central London.

Progress in persuading the legions of small and medium-sized enterprises that are the backbone of London's economy to convert to green alternatives has been slow.

That some have begun to do so is in no small measure down to the exemption from the congestion charge that electric vehicles have enjoyed since 2019.