Scrappage schemes help with changes to LEZ

From the beginning of January 2012 light commercials older than 10 years (pre-Euro 3) will be taxed to enter London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) — see News Story. Some manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and offering operators the chance to trade-in their old smokers and get a hefty discount on a new van.

Citroën and Ford are the first two to announce their ‘scrappage’ deals. The registered keepers of the vehicles potentially affected by the extension of the LEZ scheme will receive a letter from Transport for London (TfL) by the end of April. It will notify them of the changes which will prevent them from using their vehicles in the LEZ unless they pay a charge of £100 per day.

Citroën
Citroën ‘Go Green & Clean Allowance' of up to £3,500 towards a new light commercial is available to any operator who can produce the letter from TfL and whose current workhorse has a Vehicle Excise Duty licence and an MOT.

Effective from 1 May 2011, Citroën is offering £1,750 towards a Nemo, £2,500 for a Berlingo, £2,500 for a new Dispatch Combi, £3,500 for a Dispatch van and £3,500 towards a new Relay. These offers run until 31 March 2012.

Ford
The big blue oval has also been quick off the mark and is offering up to £3,000 off the list price of a new van. Fiesta Van gets a £1,000 discount, Transit Connect £1,500, a front-wheel drive Transit attracts a saving of £2,000, rising to £3,000 for a rear-wheel drive model.

Peugeot
Peugeot is providing all registered owners who are mailed by TfL a range of ‘Cashback’ offers. These are additional to all existing offers on all Peugeot vans. There’s £500 cashback up for grabs on a Bipper, £750 on a Partner, £1,500 for an Expert and £2,000 on a Boxer.

Renault
See separate News Story.

Vauxhall
See separate News Story.

Volkswagen
VW is taking a slightly different approach. It will be offering a range of incentives for London-based van drivers who may need to buy a new or used vehicle with lower, cleaner emissions when the changes to the capital’s LEZ are introduced on 3 January 2012. VW’s offers include deposit contributions towards its low-rate finance offers for new vans and preferential servicing packages for used ones.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Vans are the lifeblood of this city. Their drivers are knights of the road, an army of entrepreneurs who decorate our homes, fix our plumbing and generally provide all the vital goods and services essential to the smooth running of our city. This noble bunch are mostly small business owners and independent traders who are focused on grafting hard to support their families and build a better future.”

If Johnson really believed this, light commercials would be exempt from the London Congestion Tax. As usual he’s spouting nonsense.