ULEZ THREAT TO MODERN CLASSICS

Greater London emissions zone expansion hangs a whole generation of cars, enthusiasts and businesses out to dry

- CHARLIE CALDERWOOD, AARON MCKAY 

 

The UK capital is preparing for the expansion of its Ultra Low Emission Zone to all of Greater London on 29 August - which will mean that non-compliant cars, including all of those aged 22-40 years old, are charged £12.50 a day to use the city's roads.

The ULEZ was first introduced over Central London's existing 8.1 square-mile Congestion Charge zone, in April 2019. Unlike the Congestion Charge, the ULEZ is enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on every day except Christmas. It was then expanded to 'inner London', a 236 squaremile area inside the North and South Circular ring-roads, in October 2021, following Mayor Sadiq Khan's re-election in May 2021. The upcoming expansion, first put forward for public consultation in March 2022, will grow the zone to cover the entire Greater London Authority, an area of more than 600 square miles, in which nine million people live.

The policy is poised to have a huge impact on the classic world, with owners of modern classics subject to the charge. Regardless of their emissions, cars aged 22-40 years old are considered non-compliant. 'Historic' cars, over 40 years old, are exempt, while almost all petrol cars with published NOx figures - ie those made after 2001 - will comply.