April 7, 2011
London Mayor brings back scrappage scheme for vans
As is currently stands; Greater London is a Low Emission Zone; meaning that heavy diesel vehicles that tend to cause a lot of pollution in the atmosphere must meet a minimum emissions standard to drive around in London.
If however the vehicles do not meet the criteria, it can still travel through London but with the requirement of a daily charge. There are also other ways of making sure it does, for example, fitting an approved exhaust pipe or simply upgrading their vehicle.
The Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) was reinforced in 2008 in an attempt to clean up the air quality and make London a less polluted place to live for not only us but the generations to come. It currently applies to buses and coaches over 5 tonnes and lorries over 3.5 tonnes.
From 3rd January 2012, not only will tighter restrictions will be reinforced on the buses and lorries, but as well as this the London Emissions Zone will also affect minibuses, larger vans, motor caravan and other specialist vehicles. Cars and motorcycles are not set to be affected, but only time will tell. Furthermore, it has been proposed that in 2015 the current standards will tighten again to include oxides of nitrogen for buses, lorries and coaches.
You can pay the daily charge anywhere between 64 working days prior to travelling and midnight on the day of travelling and you can make your payment by phone, post or online. If you fail to pay within this time bracket, you could be faced with a penalty charge of up to £1000, or £500 if paid within 14 days of receiving it.
Fortunately the Mayor Boris Johnson has launched a van scrappage scheme securing discounts for drivers that will be affected by the changes in 2012, such as new vans and minibuses. So if you drive an existing van, it may be in your interest to invest in an upgrade or a new cleaner van model sooner rather than later.
If you are interested in purchasing a new van under the van scrappage scheme Auto eBid will be able to obtain you the best offers in the UK in addition to the van scrappage scheme discounts organised through TFL.
Under the TFL scheme discounts have been organised for a limited number of manufacturers including Citroen, Ford, Mercedes, Peugeot and VW however if you are looking to purchase a new van from any other manufacturer simply visit http://www.autoebid.com/buy-new-vans.asp
February 3, 2010
New research suggests that Europeans will buy 10 million low carbon cars by 2015
New research by Frost and Sullivan has suggested that 80% of new cars sold in Europe will have CO2 emissions below 150g/KM by 2015.
“By 2015, the average car in Europe will be five per cent lighter, with 30 per cent lower CO2 emissions,” says Frost & Sullivan Programme Manager Vigneshwaran Chandran. “Downsizing, gasoline direct injection (GDI), and start-stop will be the key technologies helping original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) achieve emission targets by 2015.”
About 8-10 million cars are expected to be in the less than 120g/km CO2 emission band in Europe by 2015 – a significantly attractive market opportunity for both volume and premium manufacturers, says the research.
“Premium manufacturers such as Daimler and BMW are likely to use a combination of electric vehicles, hybridization, and downsizing to achieve their 2015 CO2 emission target of 130g/km, while volume manufacturers will use a mix of green technologies such as GDI, VVT and start-stop systems,” notes fellow analyst Hariher Balasubramanian.
The countries covered in this research service are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
