London has doubled the scrappage scheme grant available to those switching their old van or minibus to a newer Ultra Low Emission Zone compliant model. The changes mean there is now £7,000 available for eligible models – boosted to £9,500 for those switching to an electric model.
Criteria have been changed to make it easier to access the funding too. The old system saw £3,500 available to either buy a Euro 6 vehicle or access third party offers such as vehicle hire or sharing services.
Those switching to EVs got up to £6,000, and any access to scrappage scheme funding required drivers to have made at least 52 trips into the Congestion Charge Zone in the six months prior to the scheme’s introduction. The requirement is now only 26 trips completed.
Equally, firms with fewer than 10 employees could access funding, whereas the limit is now up to 50 employees. Grants are on top of the existing Plug-in Van Grants, which apply to all eligible electric vans and takes up to 20% off the value of the vehicle – up to a maximum of £8,000.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our dirty air is a national health crisis that contributes to thousands of premature deaths ever year. While bold action such as our Ultra Low Emission Zone is starting to make a difference in London, I want to ensure there is help for businesses making the switch to cleaner greener vehicles – whether you rely on a van, lorry or coach.
“While we’re doing all we can in the capital, we now need the Government to match our levels of ambition and fund a national scrappage scheme that supports all those small businesses who want to do the right thing and switch to cleaner vehicles across the UK.”
