What is the clean air zone in Manchester? Blog | Dace Motor Group
What is the clear air zone in Manchester, and could this impact your choice of second-hand car?
From May 2022, Greater Manchester is introducing a new clean air zone. This is designed to reduce air pollution in our local communities and create a clean environment around the local areas. The clean air zone means that some people may have to pay a daily charge to travel within this zone if they drive a heavily polluting passenger or commercial vehicle.
The clean air zone has been developed with ten local authorities; Tamebay, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Salford, Trafford, Manchester, Rochdale, Oldham, and Stockport.
There are over 150 roads within the Greater Manchester region where nitrogen dioxide levels exceed the legal limits. Therefore, action needs to be taken to improve the air quality dramatically.
The Manchester clean air zone will be in effect 24 hours, seven days a week.
How much will the clean air zone cost?
The Greater Manchester clean air zone aims to try to prevent unwarranted air pollution within the region. By levying a charge on the highest polluting vehicles, officials hope that drivers may consider switching to cleaner vehicles or transition to electric vehicles.
The daily charges for the clean air zone will depend on what type of vehicle you are driving. Some charges will come into effect as of 30 May 2022, others at a later date.
Type of vehicle | Daily charge | Start date |
Heavy goods vehicles | £60 | 30 May 2022 |
Buses | £60 | 30 May 2022 |
Coaches |
| 30 May 2022
(Owners of vehicles not used on a registered bus service will be able to apply for a temporary exemption until 1 June 2023) |
Vans (light goods vehicles | £10 | 01 June 2023 |
Minibuses | £10 | 01 June 2023 |
Motorcaravans (motorhomes/campervans) | TBC – This will vary according to your vehicle tax class |
|
Does the clean air zone impact all cars?
Private vehicles, motorbikes, and mopeds will be exempt from the Manchester clean air zone charge.
However, if your vehicle does not meet the expected emissions standards, you may be liable to pay a daily charge.
How can I find out if the clean air zone will impact my car?
We recommend that you input your vehicles’ registration details into the government’s Clean Air Zone vehicle checking service.
This will not only confirm if your car is exempt from paying the Manchester clean air zone charge, but it will also confirm for similar schemes that are taking place in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, and Portsmouth.
Is there any government funding to help purchase a compliant CAZ vehicle?
The purpose of the Manchester clean air zone is to encourage drivers to make the switch to a cleaner, more environmentally friendly vehicle. But, of course, we know that not everyone has the funds available to buy an alternative car.
There are financial schemes in place that can allow drivers access to funding to help purchase a compliant vehicle. For example, £120m of government funding has been allocated to help eligible small business owners switch to cleaner vehicles.
You can check if you are eligible for this funding via the Manchester CAZ website.
At Dace Motor Group, we can help you to find a compliant second-hand vehicle
One of the biggest issues facing many of our customers is the lack of availability of used cars. We’ve previously written about how the semiconductor chip shortage is preventing the production of new cars, and this is filtering through to the used car market. As a result, many used cars are selling out quickly, often at higher prices than we’ve ever seen due to soaring demand.
At Dace Motor Group, we anticipate that the upcoming introduction of the CAZ will lead to an additional surge in demand from Manchester motorists who want to buy a compliant vehicle.
Even though private motorists are exempt from the charge, those who use their cars as private hire vehicles may find themselves needing to upgrade to a compliant car quickly before the charges come into effect.
If you are looking for a second-hand car, why not visit one of our four Manchester dealerships? Our sales team is extremely knowledgeable about the upcoming clean air zone. We know which vehicles are below the set emissions standards and will be exempt from any charges.
We undertake daily checks to ensure that our prices remain competitive. However, we anticipate that any additional demand for used cars could see prices increase in the coming months.
To get the best possible value for money and be confident that you’ve found the car you are looking for, we recommend that you start looking as soon as possible.
We want to help our customers prepare for the introduction of the clean air zone.
If there is a specific make or model of car that you are looking for, then let us know. We are always happy to use our network of contacts to find specific cars for our customers.