Following campaigning from the Freight Transport Association (FTA), Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has agreed to discount congestion charging for the cleanest Euro 5 vehicles and an extension of discounts for liquefied natural gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles.

The agreement was part of a package of measures that included the introduction of a CO2-related charging regime for the London congestion charge zone.

Operators of Euro 5 HGVs will be able to apply for a discounted rate of £6 per day for up to two years from October 27, 2008, with new applications closing in October 2009. This will only apply to those vehicles that include on-board diagnostics (OBD), which were left off certain early Euro 5 models.

Those HGVs running on CNG or LPG will continue to benefit from a 100 per cent discount until January 11, 2010, after which they can benefit from the same £6 deal as Euro 5 vehicles. No new registrations for gas-powered vehicles can be made after October 27, 2008.

For vans between 1.2 and 3.5 tonnes there is a similar arrangement. Euro 5 vans will be able to apply for and benefit from the £6 rate from October 27, 2008 until January 1, 2012. Vans currently running on LPG can continue to benefit from the 100 per cent discount until October 27, 2009 and can then switch to the £6 rate thereafter. However, there will be no new LPG vehicle registrations added to the scheme after 27 October 2008.

Gordon Telling, FTA's Head of Policy for London, South East & East of England said: “We lobbied hard to get this discount in place and again to have the timelines extended from one to two years for Euro 5 HGVs during the consultation.

“A small operator with fewer than 10 vehicles can now enjoy a saving of up to £1,000 for each Euro 5 HGV and up to £1,600 for each Euro 5 van. This is on top of the existing discounts in VED that qualifying Euro 5 vehicles enjoy.

“It is a shame that operators who made an early commitment to air quality by buying the first Euro 5 vehicles without OBD cannot share in this incentive but we will continue to lobby HM Treasury for this to be changed,” he added.