AA president Edmund King has called on London mayor Sadiq Khan to reconsider his decision to roll back the electric vehicle (EV) congestion charge exemption, labelling it ‘a backwards step'.

Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that changes to the London congestion charge originally proposed earlier this year will come into effect from January 2026; among them is the end of Cleaner Vehicle Discount (CVD), introduced in 2019 and set to run until 25 December 2025.

Instead, TfL plans to introduce a new tiered system that it claims will ‘continue incentivising the switch to electric vehicles (EVs)' and ensure EV drivers pay less than petrol drivers.

From 2 January 2026, there will be a 50% discount for electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles registered for Auto Pay and a 25% discount for electric cars registered for Auto Pay. Following this, a second phase planned from 4 March 2030 will see the discount reduced to 25% for electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles and just 12.5% for electric cars.

According to TfL, these changes have been introduced as they enable a ‘careful balance between continuing to support the important transition to EVs and ensuring that the Congestion Charge remains effective'.

However, AA president Edmund King said: ‘This is a backward step which sadly will backfire on air quality in London. Many drivers are not quite ready to make the switch to electric vehicles, so incentives are still needed to help them over the line. The mayor needs to reconsider to continue to help more essential van and car journeys in the capital go electric.'

TfL says that, since the introduction of the CVD, there are now nearly six times as many EVs registered – an increase from 20,000 in 2019 to more than 116,000 in early 2025 – with the transport authority predicting that they will make up nearly 20% of all vehicles in the Congestion Charging Zone by the end of the year.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: 'We must support Londoners and businesses to use more sustainable travel, so I'm pleased that substantial incentives will remain in place for Londoners who switch to cleaner vehicles, as we work to build a greener and better London for everyone.'