We don't want to take sides on London's Congestion Charge, but we are keenly interested in what the charge will mean for the environment and motorists. Ken Livingstone claims that the charge is intended to reduce congestion and CO₂ emissions while Porsche claims that the charges are unnecessarily high and unfair. New evidence that Porsche has located, though, indicates that CO₂ emissions will actually increase if the charges go into effect as planned. In fact, Porsche claims that the mayors office was aware of this report and chose not to release it.

The report, prepared for Transport for London by King's College London's Environmental Research Group, predicted that the charges would create a "very high disbenefit" not only for CO₂ but also for NOx, NO₂ and particulate matter. The reason cited for the increased emissions is that drivers will choose to drive around London instead of driving straight through, which would be a much shorter trip. London's emissions may drop, but the surrounding areas will be disproportionately hurt.

According to Andy Goss, Managing Director of Porsche Cars GB, "We always knew the environmental impact of this unfair tax would be minimal, now we know it will make matters worse. The Mayor and TfL need to explain why this report was not disclosed and why they want to increase taxes on motorists that will increase CO₂. It seems absolutely clear that the report shows that not only have Mayor Livingstone and TfL not presented all of the information to the public about the impact of his £25 charge, but that they have also created a new tax on motorists that will do the exact opposite of its stated goal." Read more of Porsche's response here.

[Source: Porsche]

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London's Congestion Charge has drawn ire from some manufacturers, but others are doing something to help alleviate the "financial burden" the charges place on their customers. According to Jim Tyrrell, Mitsubishi's Managing Director, "The vast majority of our customers run a 4x4 for a specific purpose – not simply as a fashion item. We have worked hard to reduce the emissions levels wherever we can to help minimize any negative financial impact on the thousands of businesses that have chosen to use our pick-ups."

In line with this statement, new Mitsubishi L200s equipped with a manual transmission and not fitted with the Rallitronic power upgrade will now come with a 225 g/km CO₂ emissions rating, placing them in a lower Congestion Charge band. Before the modifications to the L200, drivers would be forced to pay £25 per day for trips into London; now the charge will be £8 per day.

The TfL Congestion Charge on dual purpose double cab pick-ups will be effective starting October 6th, 2008 and will be retroactive, meaning that older pickups will face the same penalty as brand new ones.


[Source: Mitsubishi]