Which VW Transporters are ULEZ compliant

VW Transporters, ULEZ & LEZ

Here we will take a look at Which VW Transporters are presently ULEZ & LEZ compliant.

The growing areas of ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zones) and LEZ (Low Emission zones) within the UK is becoming more and more of a consideration when buying a VW Transporter as not all models are compliant.

What is ULEZ

Ultra low emission zones (know as ULEZ) is gradually being phased into the UK’s largest cities to tackle air quality problems as well; as reduce co2 emissions. The zones are expanding year on year. ULEZ started in London on 8th April 2019 and has now been rolled out to other areas of the UK.

The cost to drive a none compliant ULEZ Transporter within these zones is becoming a major consideration for people that live in urban areas affected by ULEZ, so much so that older VW Transporters are being sold off in favour of newer compliant models.

ULEZ is based upon a vehicles engine type (as printed on the log book) rather than vehicle age which makes certain VW Transporters more favourable.

It is important to point out that ULEZ cameras/charging system is linked directly to the DVLA database. What ever co2/vehicle type is recorded with them will be used to trigger the ULEZ charges due.

What is LEZ

LEZ runs in addition to the ULEZ and if your Transporter does not comply with either LEZ or ULEZ you could end up paying two fees to enter a zone. The LEZ is significantly more expensive than the ULEZ.

Some older Transporters fall foul of both the LEZ and ULEZ meaning to drive into the zone you are looking at £100 LEZ PLUS £12.50 ULEZ (as of 2022).

The LEZ affects certain category vehicles older than October 2006

Lorry, van or specialist heavy vehicle over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW)
Bus/minibus or coach over 5 tonnes GVW

Which Transporters are ULEZ compliant

The ULEZ is designed to exclude older diesel vehicles from entering the ULEZ designated zones – Or at least make it cost adverse to do so! Presently the daily fee to drive in the zone with a none compliant Transporter is £12.50.

As a rule of thumb any VW Transporter that is diesel and older than 2015 will have to pay a ULEZ charge. From 2015 onwards the VW T6 was introduced with a 2.0L Euro 6 (ULEZ compliant) diesel engine and the older diesel engines were all discontinued.

VW Transporters with a petrol engine and registered after 2005 with a Euro 4 engine (or above) are also exempt from ULEZ charges. This means a lot of the petrol VW Transporter T5’s are still ok to enter the ULEZ zones without paying ULEZ fees although for this reason they also hold a higher second hand market rate.

Which Transporters are LEZ compliant

As a rule of thumb with the LEZ – If you have a 2006 or older Transporter registered as N1 on the log book, you will probably have to pay the extortionate LEZ fees.

If you have a T4 or older T5 Transporter registered as M1 (Kombi, Shuttle or Caravelle) you maybe exempt from the LEZ HOWEVER dealers of the VW Transporter were notoriously bad at filling out log books fully when they first registered them.

If your log book does not state clearly EURO 3 or above AND the number of seats then you may find your Transporter will still trigger the LEZ fee as the default setting for the LEZ database is “panel van”!

All panel vans older than Oct 2006 to my knowledge will have to pay the LEZ fee.

If you are affected by an incomplete V5 but do in fact have an M1 Transporter, you can fill in the missing boxes and send it off to the DVLA to update their system. After a few weeks this should also update the LEZ database.