Following the announcement earlier this year of the impending change to the new Low Emission Zone standards, Sixt, Europe’s leading family run car hire firm, has today responded with measures to assist those affected.The new regulations, which will take effect in central London from 3rd January 2012, will mean that all lorries over 3.5 tonnes and minibuses/coaches with more than eight passenger seats and with a gross vehicle weight over 5 tonnes will need to meet Euro IV emission standards for particulate matter. This ruling will be in effect on the majority of roads in Greater London, including M1 and M4 motorways and the roads within Heathrow Airport.

All vehicles that fall into the new category, such as Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), commercial 4x4s and minibuses, will face a daily charge of £100 with a £500 penalty for failure to pay the charge. In addition, larger vehicles such as trucks and HGVs will have to meet the Euro IV standards in order to avoid a £200 daily charge with the penalty for these larger vehicles peaking at £1,000.

With such high charges being introduced, it is likely that a number of vehicle owners will be affected and many of the UK’s smaller business‘ requiring entry to the capital may even have to cutdown or cease trips into Greater London. For those drivers travelling into London on an occassional basis or even those looking to expand their fleet in a cost-effective manner, chosing car rental or leasing in place of an owned vehicle from a provider such as Sixt really can offer a flexible, reliable and low cost alternative to incurring the newly introduced LLEZ fees.

All LCVs supplied by Sixt are low emission vehicles and can be hired from as little as £25 per day for a VW Caddy and £29 per day for a Ford Transit, meaning a minimum daily potential saving of £71.  In addition to their other branches in London, Sixt’s regional locations at Wembley, Walthamstow, Bromley, Bishop’s Stortford and Heathrow have already been briefed and prepared to cope with the higher demand that they are expecting in the New Year.

Paul McLoughlin, Managing Director of Sixt UK, said, “For drivers and business owners with vehicles that fall foul of these new regulations, this move could have a huge impact if they require entry to the capital. From minimal use right up to daily use, this additional cost has the potential to put some of the UK’s smaller businesses out of work unless a viable alternative can be found.”

Transport for London (TfL) estimates that the operators of some 75,000 HGVs, buses and coaches and 72,000 LCVs and minibuses could be affected by the new standards.