How Car Buyers Are Saving Money with Low-Emission Zones (LEZ) in 2025

Low-emissions zones are in place in many cities within the UK. Affecting many cities, Low-Emissions Zones are designed to cut back on urban pollution, improving air quality for those who live and move around cities.

But Low-Emissions Zones can also make it more expensive for drivers to go in and out of a city, particularly if you’re using an older car. In this article, we’re going to take a look at Low-Emissions Zones and how people are saving money when navigating them.

Where are Low-Emissions Zones in place?

You’ll find Low-Emissions Zones in place across the country. London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone - or ULEZ - is one of the most well-known and brings a daily £12.50 charge to owners of non-compliant cars. But there’s also a Clean Air Zone in place in Birmingham, Bristol and Oxford, as well as Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. However, in Scotland, non-compliant vehicles can’t pay a daily charge to enter the zone; driving into a Low Emissions Zone in a car which doesn’t comply and you’ll likely be hit with a fine.

Daily charges range for each zone, ranging from £9 a day to enter Bristol’s Clean Air Zone to being hit by a £60 per day fine for driving into one of Scotland’s Low Emissions Zones.

Which cars aren’t compliant with the Clean Air Zones?

Which cars can enter a Clean Air Zone or Low Emissions Zone without having to pay a daily charge differs from zone to zone. However, nearly all of them take emissions into account. For London’s ULEZ, for instance, petrol cars must meet Euro 4 emissions standards, while diesel cars have to meet Euro 6 standards. In general, that means petrol cars made from 2006 onwards won’t have to pay a charge, while diesel cars from 2015 onwards won’t have to pay. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, mind you.

In most cases, electric and ultra-low emissions vehicles - such as plug-in hybrids - are exempt from the charges, as well as those petrol and diesel cars which meet emissions regulations.

How can I save money on Clean Air Zones?

There’s no real way of avoiding a Clean Air Zone or Low Emissions Zone charge if you’re in a non-compliant vehicle, aside from avoiding the area entirely. In London, you aren’t charged if your car remains stationary, so if you don’t need to drive your vehicle, then you can avoid the ULEZ charge by leaving it parked up. That’s not a practical solution for most drivers, however.

One of the quickest ways to get around a Clean Air Zone is to get behind the wheel of a compliant vehicle. The good news is that we’ve got plenty of cars - both new and used - which meet these more stringent emissions requirements.

Could an EV prove even cheaper?

It could do! Electric vehicles bypass nearly all emissions zone regulations, so if you’re able to switch to one, then you’ll be confident that you don’t have to pay any additional charges. There are many other areas where getting into an EV could save you money, too. For instance, if you can access cheap home EV charging tariffs, then you could recharge an electric car for a fraction of what you’d spend on filling up an equivalently sized petrol or diesel car.

For some people, an electric vehicle might not be a possibility, but in these instances, a hybrid or plug-in hybrid could still bring some fuel savings, and you’ll still meet those emissions regulations, too.

At Eden, we’ve got a wide range of cars that will meet the very latest emissions regulations, ensuring that you won’t have to worry about Low Emissions Zone charges. Check out our current stock today, or get in touch to speak to a member of the team if you’re unsure of which cars will qualify.