A new heavy vehicle scrappage scheme has been launched in London ahead of the introduction of tighter emissions standards for the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which comes into force from March 1, 2021.
More than 100 organisations have already pre-registered interest in the scheme, which will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
Other businesses or charities are encouraged to apply early for a greater chance to benefit from the grants as funding is limited. In total, £48 million has been allocated to scrappage funding, to support schemes for vans, cars and motorcycles, as well as the new heavy vehicle scrappage scheme.
The scheme offers commercial fleet operators up to £15,000 to scrap a vehicle and replace it with one that meets the news standards, or to retrofit a diesel vehicle up to the cleanest Euro VI standards.
The new low emissions zone (LEZ) standards will require heavy vehicles to meet the cleanest Euro VI emissions standards for both PM and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) in order to avoid the daily charge, rather than the Euro IV standard currently required of vehicles of this type.
Commercial fleets face the double whammy of having to comply with Transport for London’s Direct Vision Standard (DVS), also introduced from March 1, 2021.