At a glance
• From January 2, the central London congestion charge increases from £15 to £18, and EVs lose their full exemption (electric vans pay £9; electric cars £13.50)
• The changes are expected to generate about £110m extra per year in income for Transport for London
• Firms including Royal Mail, Tesco, Uber, DPD, DHL and John Lewis warned the changes may discourage EV adoption, increase costs for Londoners, and push some operators back to petrol or diesel vehicles
Sir Sadiq Khan will pocket an estimated £320m a year from motorists after hiking the congestion charge and scrapping the exemption for electric vehicles, The Standard can reveal.
The London mayor announced on Thursday that the daily C-charge levy would increase by 20 per cent, from £15 to £18, from January 2 next year.
In addition, the 100 per cent exemption currently received by EV drivers will be axed – with electric vans only qualifying for a 50 per cent discount and electric cars a 25 per cent discount.
This means that drivers of electric vans and lorries will pay £9 a day while battery-powered cars, including minicabs, will be charged £13.50 a day.
This will result in a financial windfall for the mayor of more than £110m a year, Transport for London has confirmed to The Standard.
This is made up of £70m from the introduction of charges for electric vehicles and £40m from the increased levy payable by drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles, a spokeswoman said.
The new charges are being introduced because TfL estimates that, without them, an additional 2,200 vehicles would enter central London on weekdays due to the growth in popularity of electric vehicles.
Financial estimates drawn up for Sir Sadiq predict that there will be an “operating surplus” of around £320m in 2026/27 – up £110.5m from the £209.5m surplus recorded by TfL in 2024/25.
About 20,000 electric vehicles are thought to drive within the congestion charge zone each day, including at least 7,000 private hire vehicles, including drivers who work on “ride hailing” platforms such as Uber.
City Hall documents approved by Sir Sadiq as he formally gave the go-ahead for the new charges state: “In 2026-27, the first full financial year in which the proposed changes would have effect, the expected operating surplus from the congestion charging scheme… is forecast to be around £320m.
“This represents the income raised from charges and penalties (paid), less the costs associated with operating the scheme.
“In addition to the operating surplus, TfL is expected to incur around £20m of capital costs to implement the proposed changes.”
A TfL spokeswoman said: “All money from the congestion charge is reinvested in the delivery of the Mayor’s transport strategy, including interventions to provide for walking, cycling and public transport use.”
The principle reason for scrapping the exemption for EVs was to ensure the C-charge scheme continued to tackle congestion.
“A 100 per cent discount for EVs would undermine the deterrent effect of the scheme, encouraging more vehicle entries and contributing to worsening traffic,” the mayor’s briefing papers stated.
It has also emerged that John Lewis, Royal Mail, Tesco and Uber were among the big-name firms to raise concerns with TfL about the proposed changes.
Royal Mail said the loss of the electric vehicle exemption “removes their incentive to increase their EV fleet”.
Tesco was concerned that the increase in the congestion charge “risks passing costs onto Londoners”.
Uber said changes to the clean vehicles discount “would undo the excellent progress that has been made in London in switching to EVs among private hire vehicle drivers, and that drivers may switch back to petrol or diesel vehicles”.
A total of 4,561 responses were received to the TfL consultation on the changes to the C-charge.
Delivery firms DPD and DHL both lobbied for the retention of the 100 per cent discount for electric vans and lorries.
Evri, another delivery firm, said the change “may cause many delivery companies to return to diesel vans”.
The John Lewis Partnership said the proposals “fail to recognise the importance of freight and deliveries to London's economy.
The central London levy, first introduced in 2003, applies between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 12 noon to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday and bank holidays.
