Is Your Vehicle CAZ Compliant?
Exciting news! A new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) vehicle checker has now been launched by The Joint Air Quality Unit. The aim is to enable motorists to easily check if their vehicle is CAZ compliant. Read on to find out more about the vehicle checker and CAZ.
CAZ stands for Clean Air Zones, which are defined as areas where targeted action is taken to improve air quality. For some time now, the Government has been discouraging the use of older, more polluting, vehicles through penalties, as well as offering incentives to opt for a greener vehicle.
As part of this, Birmingham and Leeds are two cities aiming to implement their Clean Air Zones in July. This is expected to be followed by Bath introducing theirs in November and then Sheffield in early 2021. Further Clean Air Zones will be introduced in 2021 and onwards, which will all be added to the new vehicle checker. So, you may be wondering how a vehicle is deemed as compliant?
Compliant Vehicles
In order to be compliant, vehicle are required to meet these minimum standards:
To find out your vehicle's emission standards look at your vehicle's logbook or contact your vehicle's manufacturer. Alternatively, contact the local authority where you're driving to find out more about vehicle exemptions. Vehicles which are classed as non-compliant will get charged a daily fee to enter the CAZ. The amount charged will vary depending on the city. Also, the zone class (A to D) and what vehicles are included vary too. The Government aim is to encourage motorists to drive low-emission vehicles by exempting the most modern and cleanest vehicles from CAZ fees. To find out more information about Clean Air Zones in different cities, click here to view the BVRLA CAZ map.
However, it is important to understand that this vehicle checker is only for CAZ. This means motorists should still check that their vehicle is compliant for other schemes such as the Oxford Zero Emission Zone, if relevant. Also, the vehicle checker currently doesn’t allow multiple vehicles which means it isn’t a suitable checker for larger fleets. Progress towards having an effective fleet checker tool continues.
If you want to find out whether you’ll be charged to drive your vehicle in a Clean Air Zone, click here to use the vehicle checker. Also, would you be interested in leasing an electric car? If so, contact our EV leasing specialists on 0161 762 5680. We'd be happy to answer any questions you have and talk through the options available to you.
*Information correct at time of publication.*
