10% of fleet vans not ULEZ compliant

One in 10 vans operated by fleets are not compliant with the London Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), according to FleetCheck.

The fleet management software provider said data from its customer base - the majority of which are SMEs - shows 10% of diesel vans currently in use do not meet  the required Euro 6 emissions standards.

The ULEZ is expanding from August 29, 2023, across all London boroughs. Non-compliant vehicles may still enter the zone but will face a daily charge of £12.50.

Peter Golding, FleetCheck managing director, said: “There’s something of a problem in the fact that many fleets are now running older vehicles that would’ve been seen before the pandemic. In pre-Covid times, there would have been very few six-year-old-plus vans being used by fleets but factors such as low production volumes in recent years mean that there are now more than in the past.

“As a company, we believe that the achievements of the ULEZ in terms of improving air quality are to be applauded and support its expansion but this development may present practical problems for these fleets.”

Businesses with non-compliant vans are advised to swap their Euro 5 models for Euro 6 ones within their organisation to put the right vehicles was in the right areas, or to buy compliant replacement vehicles.

Golding added: “Option A is perhaps becoming a little bit trickier thanks to the growth of low emissions zones across the country and will depend on the composition and needs of each fleet. However, option B is also relatively difficult at the moment because of production restrictions. Especially, replacing any kind of specialist light commercial vehicle could be difficult as manufacturers tend to be concentrating current production on simple panel vans.”