Electric vehicles will be liable to pay the London Congestion Charge after the Christmas holidays and it has been revealed that the proposed change will raise over £75 million per year.
A Freedom of Information request submitted to Transport for London by Auto Express found that the removal of the EV exemption to the Congestion Charge could bring in even more if the proposed changes to the Cleaner Vehicle Discount are not implemented.
Such changes mean that while EVs will, from 2 January 2026, be subject to the Congestion Charge, they will be able to receive a 25 per cent discount (50 per cent for vans and other LCVs) if registered through the TfL Auto Pay system.TfL also plans to increase the daily Congestion Charge rate from £15 to £18 from the beginning of 2026; this, covering both electric and ICE cars, is forecast to generate an additional £40 million over five years, potentially rising to as much as £55million.
TfL says it expects Congestion Charge revenue to grow from £240 million in the financial year 2024/25, to £320 million in 2026/27. In an interview with Auto Express, a spokesperson for the AA said the association is “bitterly disappointed that TfL is now picking on EV drivers,” pointing out how the “incentive to get more people into zero emissions vehicles has now been swallowed up in a general cash grab.”
“London has done next to nothing to provide a park-and-ride facility on the outskirts of the city, but is happy to implement a Congestion Charge that makes people think twice about driving in,” the AA explained.
This comes soon after TfL implemented tolls for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, reduced traffic by roughly 5,000 drivers per day.
(Pic: Yay Images)
