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London Lifts Congestion Charge to £18 and Ends Full EV Exemption From January 2026

City Hall says the overhaul is needed to curb traffic growth and will bring in roughly £110m annually for TfL.

Overview

  • From 2 January 2026 the daily fee rises from £15 to £18, with electric cars charged £13.50 and electric vans and lorries £9 under new 25% and 50% discounts.
  • Discounted rates require drivers to register for TfL’s Auto Pay, and the concessions are scheduled to shrink further from March 2030 to 12.5% for cars and 25% for vans.
  • TfL says keeping a full exemption would add about 2,200 vehicles to the zone on an average weekday next year, with EVs already nearing a fifth of traffic there.
  • The residents’ 90% reduction will remain for existing households, but from March 2027 new applicants will only qualify if they use an electric vehicle.
  • Motoring groups and major operators including Royal Mail, Tesco, Uber, DPD, DHL and John Lewis warn the move could slow EV uptake, as separate reports suggest the Treasury is considering a future per‑mile levy on EVs.