London Congestion Charge exemption for electric vehicles due to end

The Cleaner Vehicle Discount, which gave electric vehicles a 100 per cent exemption from the London Congestion Charge, ends on 25 December 2025, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)¹. The same date is given by waEV-charge², E.ON Next³ and Kia UK⁴. E.ON Next states that the full exemption ended on 25 December 2025 and that the Congestion Charge changed on 2 January 2026⁵.

Under the revised system described by E.ON Next, the daily Congestion Charge rose to £18, and electric vehicles are now eligible for a discount rather than a full exemption⁵. For most pure battery electric cars registered with Auto Pay, the discount is 25 per cent, meaning a payment of around £13.50 per day⁵. Electric vans, heavy goods vehicles and quadricycles receive a larger discount, of about 50 per cent on the same basis⁵. A planned revision in March 2030 will reduce those discounts further, to 12.5 per cent for cars and 25 per cent for larger vehicles⁵.

The SMMT, which published its assessment in March 2025, said the change was part of a wider pattern in which UK electric vehicle incentives have narrowed. It noted that only certain specialist zero-emission vehicles are eligible for grants now, and that from April 2025 battery electric vehicle drivers pay Vehicle Excise Duty at the lowest rate¹. The SMMT also stated that ULEZ will be unaffected¹, a point E.ON Next confirms, adding that pure electric vehicles remain exempt from the ULEZ charge because they produce zero tailpipe emissions, and that fully electric vans and heavyweight vehicles are exempt from Low Emission Zone fees⁵.

"London will be discontinuing congestion charge benefits for electric vehicles from December 2025"

The Ultra Low Emission Zone and the Low Emission Zone operate independently of the Congestion Charge, so a vehicle can be exempt or discounted under one scheme and not another⁵. E.ON Next reports that Transport for London introduced the Cleaner Vehicle Discount as a 100 per cent exemption for eligible vehicles, and that TfL says too many exemptions weaken the charge's ability to keep traffic moving⁵. It also reports that the AA urged TfL to reconsider the removal of the full EV exemption, calling the rollback "a backwards step", and that one analysis estimates an extra £40 million in earnings for TfL in 2026 compared with the previous year⁵.

Why it matters for households

For a household that runs an electric car and drives into central London, the change turns a nil charge into a recurring cost. At the rates E.ON Next reports, a battery electric car registered with Auto Pay pays around £13.50 for each charging day, against nothing before 25 December 2025⁵. Over a working year of regular central London trips, that is a running cost that did not previously exist.

The change does not affect the emissions-based charges. Electric vehicles remain exempt from the ULEZ charge, and fully electric vans and heavy vehicles remain exempt from LEZ fees⁵. Kia UK states that a fully electric vehicle avoids both the Congestion Charge and the ULEZ charge until 25 December 2025, describing the combined saving as £27.50 on a journey⁴.

For a home's energy independence, the relevant costs sit mostly outside the charging zone. Charging at home is the cheapest way to run an electric car, and the gap between home and public charging is wide: waEV-charge reports home electricity at around £0.27 to £0.30 per kWh in early 2025, with off-peak EV tariffs sometimes as low as £0.05 to £0.07 per kWh, against £0.50 to £0.85 per kWh at rapid and ultra-rapid public chargers². The SMMT has argued that the 20 per cent VAT rate on public charging should be reduced to align with the 5 per cent VAT levied on home charging¹. Whether that change will happen has not been reported.

What happens next

The exemption ends on 25 December 2025¹. The revised Congestion Charge, with the daily price at £18 and EV discounts applied, took effect on 2 January 2026⁵. A further revision is planned for March 2030, when discounts are due to fall to 12.5 per cent for cars and 25 per cent for larger vehicles⁵. The SMMT notes that other cities may follow London's approach, without naming any¹. Further detail on how the charges are structured is held in the regulation-policy hub.

Sources5 cited

1. Incentive for Electric Vehicles | SMMT, smmt.co.uk
2. waEV-charge Blog | How Much Does It Cost to Run an Electric Car in the UK? (2025 Breakdown), waevcharge.co.uk
3. The role of electric vehicles in achieving net zero., eonnext.com
4. Total Cost of Electric Vehicle Ownership | Kia UK, kia.com
5. Do EVs pay congestion charges? A guide for EV drivers., eonnext.com