Month: October 2023

Expanding the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) has led to “cleaner air across London”, Sadiq Khan has claimed.

The Mayor of London made the comment after a Transport for London (TfL) report showed the proportion of vehicles in the expanded area that comply with minimum emissions standards has risen from 85% in May 2022 to 95% in September.

Mr Khan extended the Ulez zone from everywhere within the North and South Circular roads to cover all London boroughs from August 29.

For petrol cars to meet the emissions standards they must generally have been first registered after 2005.

Most diesel cars registered after September 2015 are also exempt from the £12.50 daily charge.

While acknowledging that there “isn’t enough data in relation to air quality”, Mr Khan told the PA news agency: “We do know though, that after one month there are fewer non-compliant vehicles, who are the most polluting.

“We do know there are more compliant vehicles, and that leads to a conclusion that there is cleaner air across London.”

TfL’s report showed that 93,700 vehicles which failed to meet minimum emissions standards were driven in the capital on an average day in the first month after the expansion.

Some 36% were exempt, leaving about 60,000, including those owned by private motorists and businesses, liable for the daily charge.

That is 3% of the total number of vehicles recorded as being driven in London each day.

The figures suggest TfL receives approximately £730,000 a day in Ulez fees.

Enforcement action is taken in response to people not paying the Ulez charge in relation to 3% of non-compliant vehicles, equivalent to about 2,000 a day.

TfL said it issued 13,480 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) between September 26-30.

FPNs are £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

Failure to pay an FPN or make a representation within 28 days leads to it increasing to £270.

TfL says it can use bailiffs to “recover monies owed”, and their fees “may run into many hundreds of pounds”.

An anti-Ulez Facebook group with more than 40,000 members is urging people to refuse to pay, as well as celebrating the vandalism of enforcement cameras.

TfL’s director of strategy and policy Christina Calderato said: “It’s great to see that 95% of the vehicles driving in the capital comply with the scheme’s transformative air quality standards.

“The Ulez is highly effective in taking the oldest, most polluting vehicles off the roads.”

A scheme providing up to £2,000 for Londoners to scrap a non-compliant vehicle remains open.

Toyota has confirmed that it will introduce its new Prius to the UK, U-turning on its previous decision to not launch the model here.

The Prius is one of the firm’s best-known models, and was Toyota’s first hybrid model more than 25 years ago. Today, the majority of the cars the firm sells are powered by a hybrid powertrain, ranging from the compact Yaris through to the large Highlander SUV.

The new fifth-generation Prius was revealed last year, with a radically different design to its predecessor. Becoming sleeker, more premium and more advanced, it gained lots of interest, though Toyota initially said it wouldn’t offer the model here.

At its reveal in November 2022, the firm said: “We have taken the decision not to introduce the new generation Prius in the UK as the new model represents a very different proposition to its predecessor, alongside a clear shift in UK consumer demand towards more SUV style vehicles.”

The firm added it had sold just 563 new Prius models in the UK in its last full year on sale in 2021, compared to 18,000 examples of the C-HR crossover in the same year.

However, Toyota has now told the PA news agency that the model will in fact be sold in the UK, purely in a plug-in hybrid guise.

The Japanese firm did not cite a reason for the change in decision, but it’s expected that the model’s positive reception elsewhere and the continuing rise in demand for hybrid vehicles account for the change of mind. The Prius’ low CO2 emissions, starting from just 11g/km, will also help to lower Toyota’s fleet average, while the fact it’s sold in other right-hand-drive countries, including Ireland, will help make it easier to bring to market in the UK.

Toyota says full details will be announced at a later date, though it’s expected to command more premium pricing closer to £40,000. Sales are likely to begin in early 2024.

Around 60,000 vehicle owners a day are paying the £12.50 fee for entering London’s expanded ultra low emission zone (Ulez), new figures show.

A report published by Transport for London (TfL) revealed that 93,700 vehicles that failed to meet minimum emissions standards were driven in the capital on an average day in the first month after the expansion on August 29.

Some 36% were exempt, leaving around 60,000 – including those owned by private motorists and businesses – liable for the £12.50 daily charge.

That is 3% of the total number of vehicles recorded as being driven in London each day.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the increase in the proportion of vehicles in the expanded area that comply with the emissions standards from 85% in May 2022 to 95% in September will “make a huge difference”.

The report also revealed that around 48,000 fewer vehicles a day were used in the capital between August 29 and September 30 compared with June, representing a 2% reduction.

Mr Khan extended the Ulez zone from everywhere within the North and South Circular roads to cover all London boroughs.

For petrol cars to meet the emissions standards, they must generally have been first registered after 2005.

Most diesel cars registered after September 2015 are also exempt from the charge.

Mr Khan said: “I’ve always said that the decision to expand the Ulez was very difficult, but a month on from the expansion we can already see that it is working.

“London is now home to the world’s largest clean air zone and this new data shows 95% of vehicles seen driving in London on an average day now comply with our air quality standards – a 10 percentage point increase since I began to consult on the Ulez expansion in May 2022.

“This will make a huge difference to the lives and health of Londoners.”

TfL’s director of strategy and policy Christina Calderato said: “It’s great to see that 95% of the vehicles driving in the capital comply with the scheme’s transformative air quality standards.

“The Ulez is highly effective in taking the oldest, most polluting vehicles off the roads.”

TfL said it initially sent warning letters to vehicle owners for non-payment but issued 13,480 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) between September 26-30.

FPNs are £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

An anti-Ulez Facebook group with more than 40,000 members is urging people to refuse to pay as well as celebrating the vandalism of enforcement cameras.

AA president Edmund King said: “We have said all along that targeting the most polluting vehicles will help to improve air quality.

“What we still don’t know is how the expansion has affected families on low incomes who could no longer afford to run their non-compliant vehicles or purchase a newer one.”

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis: “It’s clear from just a month’s data that the expanded Ulez is bringing air quality benefits.

“But we note there were around 48,000 fewer vehicles entering the zone in September compared to June, so we have to hope these are people who have chosen to get around by other means rather than being unable to travel at all because they are stuck with a non-compliant vehicle.”

TfL said it is “too early to draw firm conclusions” about its figures showing a reduction in vehicle usage.

A scheme providing up to £2,000 for Londoners to scrap a non-compliant vehicle remains open.

Used car prices have dropped by 4.2 per cent in October following a ‘significant’ movement in the market.

Derren Martin, director of valuations for trade used car pricing experts Cap HPI, told Car Dealer Magazine that the fall is the biggest drop since 2011. It’s also the largest fall ever recorded in October while monthly falls of more than three per cent have only ever happened on a trio of other occasions.

Martin described the fall – which works out to an average of an £850 drop per car – as a ‘significant realignment’ but wouldn’t call it a ‘crash’. It contrasts October 2022, however, where used car prices fell by just 0.5 per cent.

Speaking on video to Car Dealer, Martin said: “There’s more cars out there and there’s less demand.

“We haven’t spoken to a single dealer that is stocking up. So when you get more supply, and only selective buying, that obviously affects prices.”

Bucking the trend was electric vehicles, with battery-powered models suffering less of a drop than petrol, diesel and hybrid models.

The biggest used price drop was for the Mitsubishi ASX – which fell by 13.4 per cent – followed by the BMW 2 Series Convertible diesel and the Skoda Karoq, which fell by 12.3 and 11.5 per cent respectively.

In contrast, the car which saw the largest used car price rise was the Dacia Logan diesel – which went up by 6.9 per cent – with the Seat Mii Electric and Toyota Prius increasing by four and 3.9 per cent respectively.

A number of other electric vehicles were on the list of biggest used price rises, too, including the Mazda MX-30 and the Nissan Leaf.

Major fuel retailers are being urged to cut petrol prices by 5p per litre due to lower wholesale costs.

The RAC, which issued the plea, accused fuel-selling supermarkets of hiking their margins on petrol.

Its analysis found their margins on petrol are around 14p per litre, double the long-term average of 7p.

Latest figures show average petrol prices in the UK are 155.3p per litre.

Petrol prices should be lowered by 5p per litre while diesel should be cut by 4p per litre, according to the RAC.

The 5p per litre cut in fuel duty introduced by the Government in March 2022 “only appears to be helping retailers who have chosen to up their margins”, the company said.

An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that supermarket fuel retailers overcharged drivers by 6p per litre in 2022, costing them a total of around £900 million.

The CMA recommended retailers provide live pump price information and a price monitoring body is created.

The Government has pledged to legislate for both those measures.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Our analysis sadly shows that despite the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation confirming drivers were being ripped off at the pumps – something we have been saying for years – and the Government acting on the findings, nothing has changed.

“Drivers are still losing out massively when wholesale prices come down.

“But in Northern Ireland, where the supermarkets don’t dominate fuel retailing, drivers are getting fairer deal with a litre of unleaded costing 150p and diesel 157p – 5p less than the UK average.

“Drivers and, indeed, the Treasury, should be furious that the 5p per litre duty cut, which has been in place since the end of March 2022, is not being passed on at forecourts.

“There is no doubt from studying RAC Fuel Watch data that margins are up across the board, and while retailers argue their costs have increased due to inflation, the irony remains that there is a definite link between pump prices and consumer price inflation.

“A failure to cut pump prices to fairer levels when there is a clear opportunity to do so has the effect of keeping inflation artificially high – which is clearly in nobody’s interest.”

Just Stop Oil activists who took part in M25 protests are waiting for a High Court judge’s ruling after being accused of being in contempt.

Mr Justice Soole is due to announce a decision on Monday after considering evidence at a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London last week.

One protester accused of breaching a court injunction by climbing on to an M25 gantry is a 76-year-old grandmother.

Retired teacher Gaie Delap, from Bristol, told the judge that the “climate emergency” was not being taken seriously enough and her “heart was breaking” for the future of “my six grandchildren”.

Ms Delap is one of 12 people accused of taking part in M25 protests in November 2022 and breaching a court injunction.

Lawyers representing National Highways told the judge that protesters caused “considerable delays” and are in contempt of court.

The protesters have all mounted arguments in their defence.

Three other people aged over 55 – Paul Sousek, 72, Theresa Norton, 65, and Paul Bleach, 56 – feature in the litigation.

Others protesters accused of contempt at the hearing were: Charlotte Kirin, 54; Daniel Johnson, 25; Joseph Linhart, 22; Luke Elson, 30; Mair Bain, 36; Paul Bell, 23; Rosemary Jackson, 25; and Theresa Higginson, 25.

BMW’s design director has said that he found the positive reception to the firm’s Neue Klasse concept to be a welcome surprise.

Adrian van Hooydonk said that he wasn’t aiming for controversy with the new concept, which showcases the future direction for BMW’s design. The futuristic electric model does incorporate a few hallmark BMW styling touches, including the prominent kidney grilles which, on the Neue Klasse, have been made smaller than we’ve come to expect from current models from the firm.

“If it hadn’t been like that, it would have been an unpleasant surprise,” van Hooydonk told Car Dealer at the Tokyo motor show.

“Because we were not looking for controversy. We are looking for a bigger change because we feel the more you push forward now, the longer your design will stay relevant.

“The world around us is now changing so rapidly, that we felt that it’s better and it is safer now to change a lot, rather than to not change enough.

“The risk of not changing enough is bigger than the risk of changing too much.”

Van Hooydonk took over from designed Chris Bangle in 2009 as the head of the design team responsible for BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, alongside the Motorrad motorcycle arm of the company.

The Neue Klasse has been billed as one of the most important concepts to come from BMW and is said to depict what we could expect from the German brand in years to come.

Van Hooydonk added: “When you change the core of your brand, you want to be very careful. You want to be very conscious of what you do.

“But again, if you don’t push it, then in five years’ time, you might regret it. So that’s how we came up with [Neue Klasse].

“It effectively skips a generation. If people squint a little bit they will see BMWs from 1970s, and that’s okay with us.

“It’s not retro design, we feel it’s modern, but there are hints of our past and we think that’s a good thing. But this is a change that will happen at the core of the BMW brand and it will spread very quickly.”

BMW is set to launch hydrogen cars by the end of the decade but says that the UK risks lagging behind the technology.

Speaking at a recent hydrogen tech summit, BMW’s general manager for hydrogen technology, Dr Juergen Guldner, said that he would like to see the UK government ‘get behind’ hydrogen fuel by putting its backing behind a filling station network.

At present, the UK has just 12 hydrogen filling stations but this number dropped last year after Shell shuttered three, citing a ‘lack of confidence’ in the alternative fuel.

Shell has previously planned to expand the three sites – which were previously located at Cobham, Gatwick and Beaconsfield – throughout Britain, stating in early 2020 that it was working towards the opening of three more sites by the end of 2021. They failed to materialise, however, as Shell believed that hydrogen fuel cell cars still didn’t appeal to the public.

In contrast, Japan already has 164 operational hydrogen filling stations and has plans to expand this to 1,000 by 2030. In Europe, there are already plans to ensure that all major highways have access to hydrogen filling stations as well as for towns with more than 100,000 residents.

Dr Guldner told Car Dealer: “I think the UK government actually does have a role, at least in including hydrogen in its mobility strategy.

“When the UK government has a hydrogen strategy, there will be a lot of industry players that are willing to invest, that are willing to build a hydrogen economy, from production to pipeline transport, all the way to mobility and stations. But I think it’s lacking a little bit of public support.”

Dr Guldner said the UK was for a long time ‘on par’ with Europe when it came to hydrogen plans, but that is not the case any more.

He added: “Just make sure you’re not falling behind. I’m not going to advise the UK government, or the UK society, on what to do, but just make sure you don’t get left behind.”

Drivers’ anger at the condition of local roads has reached an eight-year high, with a third of drivers swerving to avoid a pothole, a new survey suggests.

Some 49% of respondents to a poll of 2,583 UK drivers commissioned by the RAC said the issue was their biggest motoring concern.

This is the highest proportion recorded in the annual survey since the motoring services company began asking drivers for their views on the state of local roads in 2015.

The previous high of 46% was in 2021.

In the latest poll, two-thirds of those questioned said the condition of the local roads they regularly drive on had deteriorated in the previous 12 months.

One in three (35%) respondents said they had swerved quickly to avoid a pothole and ended up crossing into another lane or going on to the wrong side of the road.

Concerns about the condition of local roads were largely due to poor surfaces, but other factors included faded markings, litter and signage visibility.

Drivers questioned were generally more positive about motorways and high-speed dual carriageways, with just 11% saying the condition of these roads was a major concern.

But 44% said their condition had worsened in the previous year.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £14 billion.

Potholes often form when water enters cracks in the road surface, then freezes and expands.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Many drivers will be wondering why so many potholes appeared on the country’s local roads in the absence of a particularly cold winter.

“Sadly, a long-term lack of funding for maintenance and repair work means our roads are in such a fragile state that it only takes a little rainwater getting into existing flaws followed by some sub-zero temperatures for them to break down further.

“We have to bring the ongoing deterioration of our local roads to an end by giving councils the certainty of funding they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes which include resurfacing roads that have gone beyond the point where they can be patched up.

“This is why we continue to call on the Government to ring-fence 2p from every litre of existing fuel revenues over a five-year period which will give councils the funds they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes.

“It is plain wrong that drivers who contribute billions in tax every year have to put up with roads that are so far from being fit for purpose.”

Darren Rodwell, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said: “Councils share the frustration of all road users about the conditions of our local roads.

“The LGA has long called for longer-term funding to tackle the issues facing our roads and we believe that Government should award local authority highways departments with five-yearly funding allocations to give more certainty, bringing councils on a par with National Highways.

“In the upcoming autumn statement we look forward to seeing more details on the recent £8.3 billion funding plan for roads maintenance.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The decision to redirect HS2 funding to other transport projects means that an extra £8.3 billion has been freed up to help local authorities fill potholes and resurface roads across the country, which is on top of the near £1 billion the Government already provides on average every year.

“We are investing a record amount of funding into tackling potholes and resurfacing roads, which will see highway maintenance funding to local authorities almost doubled over the next decade.”

– The survey was conducted in March by research company Online95.

The average cost of car insurance has risen by £338 in the last year with premiums soaring by £148 in the last three months alone.

It means that an average premium now stands at £924, with those in inner London forking out £1,503 on average – making it the most expensive area for drivers to get their cars insured. In Outer London, prices have risen by £446 in a year, increasing up to £1,187 on average.

Outside of the capital, drivers in Manchester and Merseyside are putting up with an annual increase of around £417, with average premiums now standing at £1,154. In the West Midlands, the cost of car insurance now stands at an average of £1,139 – or up £442 on the year prior.

Younger drivers continue to struggle under high insurance premiums, with those aged 21 and under now seeing average costs of over £2,000, according to Confused.com’s car insurance price index, which compared over six million quotes.

Louise Thomas, motor expert at Confused.com car insurance, said: “For another consecutive quarter, we’ve seen some of the highest inflation rates when it comes to car insurance.

“With prices up on average £148 (19 per cent) in just 3 months, and £338 (58 per cent) in 12 months, drivers are likely to be paying more than ever. So those who haven’t yet been affected should be wary of how pricing may affect them at their next renewal.”

However, those aged over 30 are still having to pay increasing amounts for cover, with drivers up to the age of 38 not paying less than £1,000 for their car insurance on average.

“But there are deals around and drivers can still save money, even if they’ve noticed their renewal has gone up. And in a time of financial uncertainty, this can be really helpful if you’re needing to watch your money more closely than before. So if you’re due to renew, consider ways in which you can keep costs down.”