What's the future for diesel cars in London?

No longer is the government doing everything it can to steer us into diesel cars. They may well emit 20% less CO2 and give 20% better fuel economy, but they are also judged to be partly guilty for the rise in city centre NOx emissions. Hence, extra charges for owners of the oldest and highest-polluting oil burners.

This will come as a nasty surprise to owners of more than 10 million diesel cars on British roads: benefits such as cheaper road tax and lower company car tax mean even today, almost half the new cars registered are diesels. The European Commission is suing the government for breaking air pollution limits, and it’s responding by targeting diesel cars.

Is this fair? Well, diesels do admittedly produce more NOx and particulates than petrol cars. However, since 1992, emissions limits have been tightened up; diesels faced ultra-tough standards from January 2011, where the NOx limit was reduced to a tiny 0.18g/km. To achieve this, many models had to be fitted with diesel particulate filters, or DPFs, which cleansed exhaust gases of virtually all particulates.

Today’s Euro 6 diesels are cleaner still. The NOx emissions limit is just 0.08g/km, meaning a brand-new diesel emits little more NOx than a comparable petrol car. By rights, if you own a modern diesel, you should have nothing to worry about. It’s the older models that the government and cities are going after.

In London, owners of diesels registered before 2006 – those that do not meet Euro 4 emissions standards – will have to fork out £10 for the new Toxicity Charge, or T-Charge, which comes into force on 23 October 2017. This is a charge on top of the regular Congestion Charge, and applies in the same area. Unlike the Congestion Charge, though, the T-Charge applies 24 hours a day, all year round.

London is going further in April 2019. The new Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, will replace the T-Charge: here, those who own a car that doesn’t meet Euro 6 emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the city. Petrol cars registered before 2006 will also be included, but it’s much tougher on diesels: only those registered after September 2015 will escape the charge.

And where London leads…

Because this is going to affect so many diesel car owners, the government is widely predicted to roll out some form of diesel car scrappage scheme. There have been no details announced on this yet, but if it comes, it’s likely to focus on getting the oldest diesels off the road and their owners into the greenest, cleanest brand new cars. Watch this space.

The UK new car tax system has already changed, and any scrappage scheme will probably be geared around it. No longer are sub-99g/km CO2 cars free from road tax: from 1 April 2017, every car emitting more than 50g/km CO2 is charged a flat-rate fee of £140. Only zero-emissions cars have zero road tax; the charge is £10 for those emitting between 1-50g/km CO2.

It’s a very confusing system that includes additional charges for cars costing £40,000 or more. But it doesn’t affect cars already registered. If you’re buying a used diesel car that was registered before 1 April 2017, you’ll still enjoy free road tax.