Do EVs Pay Congestion Charge? Your 2025–2026 UK Guide

Do EVs still dodge the Congestion Charge, or is that perk about to disappear?

If you’ve bought an electric vehicle to save money in London (or you’re about to), this is the question that really matters. For years the answer was simple: go electric, skip the charge.

But from 2026, that safety net starts to unravel.

In this guide, we’ll break down what you pay right now, what flips from January 2026, and how new UK rules, including an EV per-mile tax, could change your running costs. No jargon, no scare tactics, just a clear look at what’s coming so you can plan ahead with your EV.

Quick answer: do EVs pay the Congestion Charge?

Right now (December 2025):

• In London, fully electric cars and vans do not currently pay the Congestion Charge if they’re registered for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD), which is a major benefit for electric vehicle drivers.
• This gives you a 100% discount on the daily charge, so your EV pays £0 to enter the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ).

But from 2 January 2026:

• The standard Congestion Charge rises from £15 to £18 per day.
• The existing 100% EV discount ends on 25 December 2025.

From that point, electric vehicles will pay the Congestion Charge for the first time. If your EV is registered on Auto Pay, you’ll get a reduced daily rate:

• Electric cars: 25% discount to £13.50 per day
• Electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles: 50% discount to £9 per day

If your EV isn’t on Auto Pay, you’ll be charged the full £18, just like a petrol or diesel vehicle.

So the short, honest answer is:

Today, most EVs in London don’t pay the Congestion Charge at all. From January 2026, they will pay, but less than petrol and diesel vehicles.

First, untangle the jargon: Congestion Charge vs ULEZ vs Clean Air Zones

A lot of drivers mix these up, so let’s clear this quickly:

Congestion Charge (London)

• Aim: Reduce traffic in central London
• Charged by time and location (central zone, specific hours)
• From 2026, EVs pay a reduced rate

ULEZ – Ultra Low Emission Zone (London)

• Aim: Cut air pollution and improve air quality across Greater London
• Charged based on emissions
• Fully electric vehicles are exempt from ULEZ charges because they produce zero tailpipe emissions.

Clean Air Zones (CAZ) – other UK cities

• Found in places like Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Bradford, Sheffield, Portsmouth, Newcastle & Gateshead
• Typically, only charge older, more polluting vehicles
• Electric and hydrogen vehicles are usually exempt.

So when you ask “Do EVs pay congestion charge?” most of the time you’re really asking about London’s Congestion Charge, not ULEZ or CAZ.

London Congestion Charge for EVs: rules now vs 2026

1. The rules today (up to 24 December 2025)

Right now, if you drive a fully electric or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle into the London Congestion Charge Zone, you can benefit from the Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD). If your vehicle qualifies, you get a 100% discount, which means you pay £0 per day to enter the zone.

The key conditions are simple:

• Your vehicle must be correctly recorded as electric or hydrogen.
• You must register with TfL and apply for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount.

Once that’s all in place, you’re automatically exempt from the congestion charge and pay £0 to enter the zone.

One important caveat: plug-in hybrids don’t qualify. Since 2021, the discount has only applied to pure electric or hydrogen vehicles, so hybrids are treated more like petrol or diesel cars for the purposes of the Congestion Charge.

2. What’s changing from 2 January 2026?

TfL is reshaping the congestion charging scheme as EV numbers grow, following policy changes led by the Mayor of London, and the timeline around Christmas 2025 is crucial.

Key dates:

• 25 December 2025: the current 100% Cleaner Vehicle Discount ends.
• 25 December – 1 January: as usual, the Congestion Charge does not operate.
• From 2 January 2026: the standard Congestion Charge rises to £18 per day.

From that point, electric vehicles will pay the Congestion Charge for the first time, but at a reduced rate if they are on Auto Pay:

• Electric cars: 25% discount to £13.50 per day
• Electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles: 50% discount to £9 per day

These discounts are not permanent. From 4 March 2030, they are set to reduce further:

• Electric cars: discount falls to 12.5%
• Electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles: discount falls to 25%

The crucial takeaway is this: if your EV isn’t registered for Auto Pay, you don’t receive any discount at all and will pay the full £18 per day, just like a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Do EVs pay congestion-style charges in other UK cities?

Outside London, things look a bit different.

Clean Air Zones (Bath, Birmingham, Bristol & more)

Cities such as Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Newcastle and Gateshead have introduced Clean Air Zones rather than classic congestion charges.

These generally:

• Charge older, higher-emission petrol and diesel vehicles
• Exempt fully electric and hydrogen vehicles, which produce zero tailpipe emissions

So in most of these cities today:

Your EV doesn’t pay the local clean air or congestion-style charge.

The Oxford exception

Oxford has gone a step further. It has introduced a £5 daily congestion charge for all cars, including EVs, on certain routes inside the ring road, as a temporary measure while major roadworks are ongoing.

• It applies at specific locations and times
• Affects electric cars as well as petrol and diesel cars

This is a sign of a wider trend: as EV ownership grows, more cities may introduce traffic management charges where EVs don’t automatically get a free pass.

New UK rules that will affect EV drivers (beyond 2026)

The London Congestion Charge isn’t the only thing changing. There are a couple of big UK-wide policies worth knowing about.

1. EV per-mile tax from 2028

From April 2028, the UK government plans to introduce a mileage-based tax on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, to replace some of the fuel duty lost as drivers switch away from petrol and diesel.

The current plan is:

• Fully electric vehicles: around 3p per mile
• Plug-in hybrids: around 1.5p per mile

So if you drive 10,000 miles a year in a full EV, that’s roughly:

• 10,000 miles × £0.03 = £300 per year in EV road tax

That’s instead of paying fuel duty via the pump, but on top of any Congestion Charge or ULEZ-type fees.

2. Petrol and diesel sales ban from 2030

The UK has recommitted to banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, with most new hybrids to be phased out by 2035.

This doesn’t mean your existing petrol car is suddenly illegal, but it does explain why:

• London is tightening up EV discounts
• More cities are experimenting with Clean Air or congestion charges
• The government is reshaping how all drivers pay for road use over time

Put simply, EVs will still enjoy advantages, but “free to drive everywhere” was never going to last forever.

Is an EV still worth it once it pays the Congestion Charge?

Let’s crunch a simple example.

From January 2026:

• Petrol/diesel car in the CCZ: pays £18 per day Congestion Charge
• Electric car on Auto Pay: pays £13.50 per day

If you drive into central London 3 days a week, 48 weeks a year, that’s:

• 144 days in the zone on an average
• Petrol/diesel: 144 × £18 = £2,592 per year
• EV on Auto Pay: 144 × £13.50 = £1,944 per year

That’s a saving of about £650 per year on the Congestion Charge alone.

Now layer in:

• ULEZ: many petrol/diesel cars also pay £12.50 per day ULEZ, while fully electric cars pay £0.
• Fuel vs electricity: home or workplace charging is usually significantly cheaper per mile than petrol or diesel (even once EV road pricing arrives).

So even after the Congestion Charge discount shrinks, an EV can still work out much cheaper overall, especially if:

• You drive into charging zones often

You can charge cheaply at home, work, or smart public chargers (like those operated by ZOLB EV)

How to avoid nasty surprises as the rules change

A few simple habits can save you a lot of money:

Always check before you travel

• For London, use TfL’s official vehicle checker for Congestion Charge & ULEZ.
• For other cities, start with the GOV.UK Clean Air Zone checker.

Register your EV properly

• Make sure your vehicle is correctly listed as electric with the DVLA
• For London, register for a Road User Charging account and Auto Pay so you actually get the EV discount from 2026 onwards.

Plan your charging as well as your route

• Use reliable apps and networks (like ZOLB EV’s smart charging app and stations) so you’re not overpaying at random chargers or wasting time in queues.

Keep an eye on policy announcements

The EV per-mile tax rates could change with future budgets.

London has explicitly said the Congestion Charge could rise annually in line with public transport fares.

Where ZOLB EV fits into this changing landscape

Every new rule, higher congestion charges, ULEZ, and soon per-mile EV taxation, makes it harder to know if you’re actually saving money or just shifting the cost elsewhere. At ZOLB EV, our job is to make sure your charging setup still stacks the numbers in your favour.

We design and operate smart charging solutions that help businesses, fleets and site owners:

• Offer reliable, easy-to-use charging that drivers actually want to use
• Turn car parks, depots and destinations into new revenue streams, not just overhead
• Stay ahead of changing regulations without having to become EV policy experts

Whether you run a hotel, stadium, office, retail park or fleet, we can help you build a charging strategy that keeps drivers happy, protects your margins and future-proofs your site against whatever comes next.

If you’re ready to turn EV charging from “another cost” into a competitive advantage, get in touch with the ZOLB EV team to map out a tailored solution and see how much additional revenue your site could generate.