ULEZ Vehicle Finance

Air pollution affects everyone who lives and works in London - but groups like children, older people and those with heart and respiratory conditions are the most affected. People living in deprived areas are often the worst affected by poor air quality, partly because these areas are often near busy roads.

It has been estimated that 4,300 premature deaths in London were due to long-term exposure to small particles, and as many as  5,900 premature deaths from NO2 long term exposure.

Pollution levels from vehicle emissions may continue to rise, so the government have been forced to take stronger action in tackling the problem. The ULEZ is central to the Mayor’s plans to improve the health of Londoners and reducing pollution by cleaning up the city’s toxic pollution from road vehicles.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) replaced the T-Charge back in April 2019, and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Vehicles that enter ULEZ must meet the new exhaust emission standards, or pay £12.50 a day. This charge will be on top of the weekday Congestion Charge and the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) charges

If you don’t pay the ULEZ charge, there’s a penalty of £160 ( £80 if you pay within 14 days).

HGVs face a higher daily ULEZ charge of £100 - backed by a penalty of £1000 (£500 if paid within 14 days).

The zone is set to expand. From 25 October 2021 the ULEZ boundary will be extended out to the North and South Circular Roads. It means most vehicles including private cars, vans and lorries will need to meet new, tighter exhaust emission standards to avoid substantial daily charges.

If you run a business in or around London you need to find solutions now. 

Which vehicles will be affected?

If you own either a petrol vehicle which fails to meet Euro 4 standards, or a diesel vehicle that fails Euro 6 standards you will be subject to the charge. This means that the vast majority of motorcycles, vans, minibuses, buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles will be charged - although there are certain groups of vehicles that will be discounted or exempt.

Due to these tighter emission standards, a vehicle which passed LEZ standards may not pass ULEZ emission standards. Tfl has a ULEZ vehicle checker to find out whether your vehicle meets the new emission requirements.

The majority of petrol cars first registered before 2006, and diesel cars registered before September 2015 are unlikely to pass the new requirements. Therefore, if your business is  working within the zone using a vehicle that is registered before these dates, the best solution may be to upgrade your vehicles to those that meet the revised standards.

This will be a major cost - but it is likely to be less than the cost of paying the charge on an older vehicle every day that you use it. 

Business sectors affected:

• Couriers and delivery businesses
• Haulage and freight companies
• Bus and coach companies
• Trades with vans
• Retailers and wholesalers
• Taxi firms
• Scaffolding companies
• Builders and skip providers

A new petrol or diesel vehicle could be the best solution if your business depends on its vehicles.  You may even consider electrics - which can bring some other important cost savings. But replacing your entire fleet can be a major investment. You need to minimise the cost of financing it - and dealer finance could be a costly option. Of course,  your vehicle dealer can offer finance plans - but the purchase price is often inflated to pay for the finance that they provide.

You could be better off asking for their best price for cash, and paying for your car, van or truck with finance from a specialist lender.

At Rangewell we can provide a number of finance solutions to suit the needs of your business – not the dealer’s. You spread the cost over the term of the agreement while your vehicles are already earning money for your business.

Vehicle Asset Finance solutions include:

Hire Purchase

Hire Purchase works just as it sounds. You ‘hire’ the vehicle until you’ve paid enough to ‘purchase’ it.

With Hire Purchase, you’ll pay fixed monthly repayments, making it easy to manage cash flow during the term. When you’ve made all the repayments, your business will own the vehicle.

HP can run up to 60 months.

Lease Finance

Leasing means that you hire a vehicle, but do not actually buy it. Its great advantage is that it makes it easy for you to update your vehicles - which can be important for prestige and reliability. You can have maintenance and insurance to be included - and have your vehicles for their whole working life or a shorter, agreed period.

Contract Hire

Contract Hire is a special kind of leasing deal. Payments are calculated on the purchase value less the projected value of the vehicle at the end of the agreement. This helps keep your monthly repayments down and makes it simple to switch to a new vehicle when the time comes.

Contract Hire could be particularly appropriate if you need prestige vehicles for your business.

Why come to Rangewell for Vehicle Finance?

At Rangewell, we work across the entire lending market. Our team knows the lenders who specialise in Vehicle Finance, and those who understand your business sector. It means that we can help you find the most competitive rates for all types of vehicles - from a single van to a complete HGV fleet. It can cut the financial impact of the ULEZ on your business - keeping you in the road and cutting your outgoings for vehicle purchase as well as eliminating the extra charges. 

Talk to our experts to discuss the details.