INCREASED FOR VANS ULEZ SCRAPPAGE PAYMENTS
ondon mayor Sadiq Khan has announced an increase in the grant available to scrap vans not compliant with the soon-to- expand London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
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The value of the grant available to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and sole traders for replacing each non-compliant van has been increased from £5,000 to £7,000, up to a maximum of three vans (£21,000). The grant of up to £7,000 for replacing a minibus rises to £9,000, also to a maximum of three (£27,000). In addition, grants for replacing a non-compliant van with an electric van have been increased from £7,000 to £9,000. Meanwhile, the grant to replace a wheelchair- accessible vehicle with an EV has
been doubled from £5,000 to £10,000.
The value of payments to retrofit non-compliant vans to meet the ULEZ standard has been increased from £5,000 to £6,000. Khan has kept the basic grant to scrap a non-compliant car or van at £2,000 but has expanded its eligibility to everyone within the ULEZ – it was previously only available to those receiving benefits such as child benefit or universal credit. The ULEZ charges owners of
older, more polluting vehicles £12.50 a day to drive within the zone. It launched in central London in 2019 and was expanded to cover most inner boroughs two years later. It is scheduled to grow to encompass all 32 London boroughs on 29 August 2023.
Commenting on the announcement,
Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) London infrastructure lead Michael Lloyd said: “These are significant changes to the current scrappage and retrofit scheme, through these extra funds [that] FSB has successfully lobbied for, and they will make a real difference to many small businesses and sole traders in the capital. We have made the case for the messaging of the introduction of the extension, and the funds available, to be small business friendly. “The smallest firms are often the hardest to reach and so communicating the funds in the clearest possible way, in particular for those with light vans who are keen to retrofit, remains paramount over the next month and beyond – particularly now retrofit grants have increased to cover almost all of the cost.”
LONG-WHEELBASE TOWNSTAR N
issan has added a long- wheelbase option to its Townstar van range.
The new L2 variant is available with a choice of petrol or electric power – the latter featuring a 122hp electric motor and a 45kWh battery, together offering a combined
range of up to 171 miles between charges.
With a vehicle length of 4,910mm, the L2 features a 4.3m3 capacity – a 1m3
load bay increase on the
existing L1 – and features a wider side door at 831mm, allowing a Europallet to be loaded.
Payload of the L2 is up to
800kg, and there’s a 1,500kg towing capacity. Pre-orders for the Townstar L2 are open now. Prices excluding VAT start at £21,625 for the petrol version, and £33,945 (also excluding the Plug-in Van Grant) for the electric.
NISSAN INTRODUCES At a glance
The average price of used LCVs sold at auction rose by 17.2% in Q2, according to Aston Barclay. The remarketing company said the increase compared with Q1 was helped by a fall in average vehicle mileage, from 102,933 to 94,000 miles, and a consistent average age of 61.3 months.
The BVRLA’s Fleets in Charge conference will discuss progress towards decarbonisation. The event on 20 September will feature insights on how different parts of the sector are embracing new zero emission technology. Included will be a government update on ZEV mandate plans, a ‘masterclass’ on working with local authorities, and keynote speeches from Maria Bengtsson of EY, and representatives of Mobility Operations, Europcar and Arval UK.
The RAC has released a new app to help drivers find the cheapest fuel prices near them. It says its new myRAC Fuel Finder app allows users to make up to five searches a day over a two, five or 10-mile radius from their chosen locations. The app will then display the five cheapest filling stations near them and also allow comparisons with the average UK prices for petrol and diesel.
Mobilize Financial Services UK and Select Car Leasing have launched a new leasing brand aimed at the UK fleet market. Select Lease by Mobilize will offer multi-brand leasing contracts to corporate and SME customers as well as private individuals. It forms part of a global strategy by mobility brand Mobilize – part of Renault Group – for a fleet of one million vehicles by 2030. Mobilize Financial Services UK has acquired 36.6% of Select Car Leasing.
BP Ventures has announced a £4m investment in Dynamon, a developer of data analytics and simulation tools for commercial transport and logistics companies. Dynamon’s products aim to help businesses decarbonise their fleets cost-effectively. Its flagship software, Zero, develops solutions that save energy and capital investment costs through planning for vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy costs and operations analysis.
@whatvan August 2023 WhatVan? 5
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