July 2023 driving law changes – fuel prices, Clean Air Zones & EV charging costs

CMA fuel price report

Petrol and diesel prices have been sticking points for drivers up and down the country for years now, with fluctuations seeing costs drop as low as £1.10 during the pandemic to record-breaking costs seen last summer.

July 7 marks the deadline for the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) to publish its market study into the price of road fuel, having released an update in May.

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said that interviews would be taking place with supermarket bosses to determine why prices were not coming down quickly enough.

She added: “Although much of the pressure on pump prices is down to global factors including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have found evidence that suggests weakening retail competition is contributing to higher prices for drivers at the pumps.”

Clean Air Zone

Tyneside’s Clean Air Zone, covering Newcastle and Gateshead, launched in January, but new changes will be introduced next month.

From July 17, older, more polluting vans and light goods vehicles will be charged to drive inside the area, being charged a daily fee of £12.50 if they are not compliant.

Councillor Jane Byrne, cabinet member for a connected, clean city at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is the second stage of the launch of the Clean Air Zone, which is in place to help tackle air pollution and protect people’s health by reducing the number of older, more polluting vehicles using our roads.

“Many drivers and business owners are already familiar with the Clean Air Zone but this will be the first time non-compliant vans and light goods vehicles will face charges.

Energy price cap

The start of July will see the energy price cap reduced to £2,074 for the average household, with people paying less for their bills over the summer.

Electric vehicle owners are set to see major benefits from this, especially if they have an off-peak electric vehicle tariff.

Charging on such a tariff with a typical EV, it would cost just £127.50 for a year’s worth of driving with Octopus Intelligent at 7.5p/kWh. 

According to Ohme, a petrol vehicle travelling an average annual mileage of 6,800 miles would need to spend more than £1,100.

HGV levy

July 31 will signal the end of the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) levy, with a reformed HGV levy being introduced on August 1, 2023.

This levy applies to all HGVs that weigh over 12 tonnes, with the money being used to maintain the roads and is based on vehicle weight to determine CO2 emissions, vehicle air quality emissions and levy duration.

The HGV road user levy can see drivers pay as much as £10 per day or £749 a year for the most polluting vehicles.