Earlier this year we reported on proposed new legislation which threatened to ban all but the very latest, leanest and cleanest vehicles from entering the Greater London area by 2020. Well, as the year drawers to a close, there’s some good and a fair bit of bad news for us older car lovers as the consultation process continues…
While it seems that there will indeed continue to be exemptions for ‘Historic Vehicles’ and that many older vehicles will become exempt from the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) restrictions and penalties – and the definition of a ‘Historic Vehicle’ seems to have been decided upon. Namely, a vehicle manufactured before January 1, 1974 and proceeding on a rolling 40-year basis. Such vehicles would need to be confirmed as historic by the DVLA and be classified as such on their V5. The problem is, that still leaves a huge number of what lots of us would consider ‘historic’ VWs facing a ban or huge penalty for entering the Greater London area. We’re talking Mk1 and Mk2 Golfs and Sciroccos, later Bays and Beetles and a whole host of other interesting water cooled Dubs from the ‘80s and ‘90s – so if you fancy doing an arty photoshoot in an inner city location, do it while you can.
It could also mean bad news for clubs. For example, if a group of enthusiasts such as the Corrado Club UK wanted to meet in central London, forget it! Chances are, if the new rules get the nod even Volkswagen UK’s Last Edition Beetle (below) would be banned from making an appearance in the capital.
More worrying still is that not only are environmentalists pushing to include some surrounding London boroughs but also, if the scheme is successful, we could see it spread to other major cities across the UK as well… City centres will effectively become a no-go area for faithful and reliable older cars still loved and cared for by their owners such as this early Passat…
Bringing the discussions up to date, the UK motor industry is pushing to make the ban even more stringent – limiting access to cars conforming to Euro-4 for petrol and Euro-6 for diesels. Given the introduction date of 2020, it would therefore allow petrol vehicles of up to 14 years of age to enter without penalty. But the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) thinks the London Mayor should have a rethink and standardise this to Euro-6 standard for both diesel and petrol cars, so by 2020 the oldest qualifying vehicle would be just six years old.
This latest bit of advice, if listened to by Boris, or whoever takes charge of London’s affairs in the future (Labour has implied it would continue with the plans for a ULEZ) could possibly make the likelihood of leniency towards collectable cars les than 40 years old even more unlikely.
Watch this space in 2015!
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage
I have 2 ‘classics’ a 1979 beetle karman cabrio and a 1976 MGB V8 roadster – my point is that I and many other ‘classic’ owners do less than 1000 miles per year anyway so the environmental impact is far less than say a 15 year old car doing 12000 miles a year – we have to get a balance here. I am still paying full road tax and that is a real issue for me.
I agree. Us old car lovers are very switched on when it comes to environmental issues and our ‘make do, mend and restore’ philosophy is so much ‘greener’ than those who buy new cars and throw them away after a few years – and because in general, we do so few miles in our classics, their impact is limited anyway. I guess many owners would benefit from a tax being levied on fuel, but with the rolling 40 year exemption you’ve only got to wait a year or so for the MG to become exempt…