ULEZ: Only two per cent of scrappage scheme vans replaced by electric

Just two per cent of polluting vans scrapped under the ULEZ scrappage scheme have been switched to an electric model, despite Transport for London (TfL) pledging over £100m to businesses.

Of the 16,207 approved applications to scrap a petrol or diesel van between January 2023 and May 2024, only 372 were replaced with an EV, analysis from campaigners Clean Cities found.

Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the ULEZ scrappage scheme in 2023 to help Londoners and businesses prepare financially for the zone’s controversial expansion across Greater London. It offers grant payments to replace or retrofit vehicles which do not meet emissions standards.

“The Mayor’s van scrappage scheme is a leading endeavour but something isn’t right if only two percent of businesses in London have ditched diesel and switched to electric instead,” Oliver Lord, UK Head of Clean Cities, said.

“Londoners rightly expect businesses to step up and play their part in cleaning the air and protecting the environment but more support is needed to make cleaner electric vans a viable option.”

It comes following analysis from the campaign group Transport & Environment earlier this week revealing van numbers on UK roads have soared by over a million since 2014.

Since 1990, carbon emissions from vans in the UK have risen 63 per cent, while private cars and taxis have decreased 19 per cent.

“The continued rise in van emissions in the UK is alarming. Despite the push for more electric vans on our roads, we are still witnessing a surge in greenhouse gas emissions from vans as a result of sustained sales of diesel vans, countering trends we are seeing in the car market,” said Ralph Palmer, UK Electric Vehicle and Fleets Officer at Transport & Environment.

“It’s clear that more action is needed to boost electric van demand among fleets to ensure we achieve the triple-win of tackling emissions, reducing running costs for small businesses and boosting energy security,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Since the introduction of the scrappage scheme in January 2023 more than 52,000 grants have been approved for Londoners, businesses and charities to switch to cleaner vehicles, with more than £178m committed. There is still support available.

“London is leading the way in electric vehicle uptake with more than 20,000 electric charge points – more than one third of the UK’s total. The Mayor has committed to working closely with partners to deliver 40,000 charging points by 2030.”