ULEZ, CAZ and van emissions: what sellers need to know in 2025

Since London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expanded in August 2023 to cover almost the entire Greater London area, emissions compliance has become a meaningful factor in the value of older diesel vans. If you’re selling in or near a major city, here’s what you need to know.

What is ULEZ and how does it work?

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges non-compliant vehicles £12.50 per day to drive within the zone. For vans, compliance is based on Euro emissions standards:

• Diesel vans: must meet Euro 6 to be exempt from the charge
• Petrol vans: must meet Euro 4 to be exempt

Euro 6 diesel was introduced for new vans from September 2016. Most diesel vans registered before 2016, including pre-facelift Ford Transit Customs, older Sprinters, and virtually all pre-2016 Transporters, are non-compliant.

You can check any van’s ULEZ status using TfL’s official checker at tfl.gov.uk using the registration number.

Clean Air Zones beyond London

London is not alone. Clean Air Zones are operating or planned in:

• Birmingham (Class D, charges all private vehicles and vans)
• Bath (Class C, charges vans and larger)
• Bradford (operational)
• Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle (at various stages of implementation)
• Manchester (Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone, delayed but progressing)

The daily charge varies by zone and vehicle class, but the underlying compliance logic is the same: Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol avoids the charge.

How ULEZ affects what your van is worth

Non-ULEZ-compliant vans are worth less in zones where buyers will face daily charges to use them. The effect is most pronounced in:

• Greater London, where the ULEZ charge makes a non-compliant van costly for any trader, courier, or contractor working in the capital
• Birmingham, similar dynamic for the city centre zone

In practice, a 2014 Ford Transit Custom in good condition is worth less than the same van registered in 2016 with Euro 6 compliance, even if the two vans are mechanically identical. The 2014 van has a structurally higher running cost for any buyer operating in a CAZ area.

The price gap has been growing since the London ULEZ expansion. For a high-use trade van that would have been worth £6,000–£7,000 in 2022, non-compliance can knock £1,000–£2,000 off what a trade buyer will pay.

What your options are

1. Sell now, before more zones expand. The trend is more zones, stricter rules, and wider coverage. A non-compliant van is likely to be worth less in two years than it is today.

2. Retrofit. TfL’s Cleaner Vehicle Checker lists approved retrofits for some diesel engines. These add selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and can achieve Euro 6 equivalency, restoring ULEZ compliance. Costs range from £3,000 to £8,000 depending on vehicle type. For most older vans, the retrofit cost exceeds the uplift in value.

3. Switch to electric or Euro 6. If you need a van that works in London, the replacement question becomes economic: lease a new Euro 6 or electric van vs. keep paying the daily charge.

For most sellers with a non-compliant van, the cleanest decision is to sell it and move on.

Does non-compliance affect scrap/salvage value?

Not materially. Scrap and salvage pricing is based on metal weight and component value, not emissions compliance. A non-ULEZ van broken for parts is worth the same as a ULEZ-compliant one, the parts themselves don’t carry the emissions restriction.

Where non-compliance matters is in the used and trade market. If a buyer needs to drive the van for work, compliance is a real cost. If the buyer is breaking it, it’s irrelevant.

Checking compliance

• ULEZ (London): tfl.gov.uk, enter the registration
• Other CAZs: gov.uk/clean-air-zones, national CAZ checker
• Euro standard: listed on the van’s V5C, section D.2 (type approval). You can also check via DVLA vehicle enquiry using the reg.