Drivers are having to pay an extra £3,600 in order to get a ULEZ-compliant model of some cars, Auto Trader revealed today as the expansion of the zone was approved.
The country’s biggest marketplace for cars compared 2015 models of many diesel cars, which are not compliant with the rules, with the 2016 cars, which are.
It found that for a Volkswagen Golf, the ULEZ compliant 2016 model can cost customers £3,601 more than the 2015 version, a 28% increase. For a Ford Focus, the premium is £2,828 and for a Nissan Qashhqai is is £2,594.
Ian Plummer, commercial director of Auto Trader, said: “This is hard evidence of the distortions in the market caused by the ULEZ extension. While the overall used car market is in good health nationally, drivers are having to pay a price penalty to follow the rules in London.
“This doesn’t need to be a case of pocket over planet, it is possible to achieve both - but it’s vital we get the balance right between the carrots and the sticks or we’ll lose people along the way.”
Owners of non-compliant vehicles will have to pay £12.50 for every day the car is driven in the zone, which is now set to cover all London boroughs from 29 August. That would mean that someone driving within ULEZ every day would pay more than £4,500 per year.
The expansion of ULEZ across all of London was approved in the High Court today in a victory for Mayor Sadiq Khan against outer London boroughs that had protested the change. Mr Justice Swift rejected a bid from five Tory councils to have the proposed widening of the scheme ruled unlawful.
Plummer also pointed out that while prices were much higher for ULEZ compliant versions of some cars, there were still many compliant cars available for much lower prices, especially older petrol cars. For example, the average price of a 2007 Vauxhall Astra is just £2,172.
