News

Potentially thousands of letters have gone to operators that pre-registered their Euro-3 vehicles warning they may not comply with the London low-emission zone (LEZ) standard - even though Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that all Euro-3 vehicles are acceptable under the scheme.

The letters have gone out to  operators affected by the LEZ whose vehicles were registered before 1 October 2001, when Euro-3 became compulsory. However, this includes Euro-3 trucks that were registered before this date.

Tony Pain, marketing director at Daf, says: "This is a big issue. We have 1,600 Euro-3 vehicles that were registered before that date and we estimate there are 5,000 vehicles like this in the industry as a whole."

A TfL spokeswoman says: "We are currently issuing letters targeting owners of vehicles that, according to the database TfL has built using data provided by the DVLA, Vosa and SMMT, don't currently comply with the required LEZ emissions standards for February and July 2008.

"The letters, together with an information leaflet, will go to registered keepers whose details are on the DVLA database. The mailing is not restricted to the Greater London area and will target registered keepers no matter where they are based within Great Britain.

"Issuing these letters is  an essential part of the public information campaign to inform anyone who may be affected by the LEZ." For further information, operators should first contact their dealer.

The TfL website now includes details of the four Euro-1 engines that are compliant - the Cummins L10 350E 11, Cummins L350E, Volvo D12A and Volvo D16A. It also includes details of all Euro-2 engines. Go to www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez/vehicles/options/5374.aspx for details.