It might not be a very Merry Christmas for electric vehicle owners living in London by the time the festivities roll around next year.
That’s because from 25 December 2025 EVs will have to pay the full amount to drive in the capital’s Congestion Charge Zone, Transport for London has confirmed this week.
Owners of zero-emission models currently benefit from only having to pay £10 for an annual exemption from the charging zone, but TfL has confirmed they will be stung with the standard rate – a £15 daily charge – from the end of next year.
One expert dubbed the decision ‘puzzling’ while others suggest the London Mayor Sadiq Khan is attempting to make up for the shortfall in revenue generated by the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
From 25 December 2025, all pure EVs will have to pay the standard Congestion Charge rate – a £15 daily charge – TfL has announced
The UK recently celebrated more than 1 million EVs on the road, and until now one of the financial benefit for Londoners has been the reduced Congestion Charge rate for driving a zero-emission vehicle into the centre of the city.
But from the end of 2025 that benefit is being scrapped.
And in a Scrooge of Christmas moment, TfL will introduce the new changes on Christmas Day.
However, there will be a short spell of respite for EV drivers.
That’s because there’s no Congestion Charge between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (inclusive), providing electric cars owners an unofficial grace period until 2026 begins.
A spokesperson for Transport for London said: ‘The Congestion Charge’s Cleaner Vehicle Discount was part of our phased scheme to tackle London’s toxic air.
‘Ending the Cleaner Vehicle Discount from 25 December 2025 will maintain the effectiveness of the Congestion Charge, which is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London.’
The termination of EV discounts could sting around 100,000 drivers living in the capital, it has been estimated.
In 2022, TfL said there were 69,172 ‘plug-in’ vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) registered in London the year previous, though given the uptake of fully-electric cars since, the total is likely close to – if not in excess of – six figures.
A spokesperson for Transport for London said: ‘Ending the Cleaner Vehicle Discount from 25 December 2025 will maintain the effectiveness of the Congestion Charge, which is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London’
The removal of the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD) is the third and last phase of a package of measures to reduce air pollution and congestion in central London
The Congestion Charge removal is just the latest blow for current and prospective EV drivers.
The Plug-in Car Grant purchase incentive for electric models was removed in 2022 and, as of April 2025, EV owners will have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) just like those who run petrol and diesel cars.
Currently the ULEZ exemption is, along with the reduced Electric vehicle chargepoint grant, the only existing government-backed benefit schemes for driving an EV in London.
The Congestion Charge changes were originally announced by the Mayor of London and TfL in 2018, as part of a package of measures to reduce air pollution and congestion in central London.
The Ultra Low Emission Discount for the Congestion Charge zone was replaced with a new phased Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD).
Initially from April 2019, only zero emission-capable vehicles were exempt from the Congestion Charge, before a second phase tightening allowed only pure electric vehicles to qualify for the discount from October 2021.
The Congestion Charge is a £15 daily charge if you drive within the Congestion Charge zone 7:00-18:00 Monday-Friday and 12:00-18:00 Sat-Sun and bank holidays. No charge between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day bank holiday (inclusive)
The ONS predicts VED input to the economy each year, and as half of all new vehicle sold in 2025 are expected to be electric, the government wants to start getting tax revenue from them to hit targets
TfL has noted a steep rise in vehicles registered for the CVD discount from just over 20,000 at the start of 2019 to over 112,000 today
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at The AA says drivers are willing to park their cars and use transport into the city, as seen with hugely successful park and ride schemes in Cambridge. But London is a different case – ‘for its size, the number of park and ride spaces in London is pitiful’
TfL has noted a steep rise in vehicles registered for the CVD discount from just over 20,000 at the start of 2019 to over 112,000 today.
TfL expects the numbers will continue to increase significantly, in which case would undermine the benefits of the Congestion Charge.
However, industry response has questioned the logic behind the decision, with the AA saying that it ‘may be a Christmas present for the Mayor’ but ‘it’s a turkey bone in the throat for EV owners who heeded his call to switch to green vehicles and improve air quality in the capital’.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the motoring group, said: ‘Cabbies and businesses who have made the switch to electric will now face an extra financial hurdle, that ultimately the consumer will pay.
‘Similarly, car reliant households will now pay more.
‘The key question is: has this decision come about because he hasn’t made as much money as he thought from the ULEZ expansion?’
While other cities have a well-organised park and ride system to make leaving a car on the outskirts an easy option, this won’t isn’t the case in London: ‘For its size, the number of park and ride spaces in London is pitiful’, Cousens adds.
Oliver Lord from campaign group Clean Cities told the BBC that the change is ‘puzzling’.
He added: ‘By offering incentives to businesses for electric vehicles, we not only promote greener transport but we also draw a line against the most polluting freight vehicles.’
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.