Four Low Emission Zones were launched last year in Scotland, with Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow all introducing the zones. However, charging will not start until May and June 2024, with the exception of Glasgow, which will begin charging vehicles from June 1, 2023.
A vehicle may only drive within a Low Emission Zone if it meets specific emissions standards, with electric vehicles, motorbikes and mopeds not included in these restrictions.
This is Euro 4 (after 2006) for petrol vehicles, Euro 6 (after September 2015) for diesel vehicles and Euro VI for buses, coaches and HGVs.
Data from carwow suggests that the planned emissions-based charging zones in Scotland will have a greater impact on the used car market than the impact of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London.
Hugo Griffiths, consumer editor at carwow, commented on the new changes and how non-compliant cars will be banned rather than charged.
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He said it would prompt more retail activity as drivers look to replace older, affected cars, which will require dealers in relevant areas to part-exchange stock.
This would also need to be at greatly reduced prices locally or face the prospect of selling them outside their normal territory to make money.
He said: “All eyes may be on London’s ULEZ and its planned expansion in August, but Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone, which comes into force in June, could start a series of ripples in the Scottish used-car market that become a veritable tide next year, when three more similar schemes come into force north of the border.
“London’s ULEZ allows drivers to pay a daily fee to drive older, more polluting cars into the zone, but Glasgow’s LEZ makes no such provision.
“If your diesel car is not Euro 6 compliant or your petrol one is not Euro 4, you will simply be banned from entering the centre of Scotland’s most populous city.”
If a vehicle does not meet these standards, the owner is subject to a Penalty Charge Notice if they drive it within a Low Emission Zone.
The initial penalty is £60, halved after 14 days, and capped at £480 for cars and LGVs and £960 for minibuses, buses, coaches and HGVs.
Theoretically, if an individual driver is hit with a fine every day, Mr Griffiths highlighted how motorists could be fined £174,180 every year.
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There are certain exemptions to the rule including vehicles for disabled persons, Blue Badge holders, emergency services, classic vehicles over 30 years old and other time-limited local exemptions.
The LEZs operate all day, every day and use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to detect all vehicles through a national database.
In Glasgow, after June 1, 2023, all non-residential vehicles will have to adhere to the new rules as part of the Council’s Phase 2.
Enforcement for vehicles registered to a residential property within the zone area will start on June 1, 2024.
Some funding is available to motorists within 20km of a LEZ, including a £3,000 payment for the “safe disposal of non-compliant vehicles”.
Previously, other grants were available including the Used Electric Vehicle Loan, Low Car Transport Business Loan and the Low Emission Zone Retrofit Fund.
Hugo Griffiths added: “Three further Scottish LEZ schemes, working on identical principles to Glasgow’s, are being introduced in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee in 2024.
“Given the broad geographical area these cities span, and that (roughly) pre-2015 diesel and pre-2006 petrol cars will be banned from entering their centres, non-compliant cars could soon experience a marked drop in value north of the border.”
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