Low emission zone will not kill demand for Euro II trucks

The creation of London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ), with its heavy financial penalties for high-emissions commercial vehicles, has led to suggestions from some in the truck industry that Euro II-classified models will now be much more difficult to sell. But the situation is not so severe, according to EurotaxGlass’s – publisher of Glass’s Guide to Commercial Vehicle Values.

“Concern in the truck industry that Euro II chassis are set to become close to unwanted is misplaced,” comments George Alexander, Chief Commercial Vehicle Editor at EurotaxGlass’s. “While Euro II trucks are no longer welcome to enter London’s Low Emission Zone – and other conurbations may soon follow London’s lead – there are some fundamental facts about these models which mean things are not as bad as they may seem.

“Typically, a Euro II chassis will be between seven and ten years old. This immediately limits who will buy it, what type of work it will be used for and its price. At 7.5 tonnes even a newer Euro II Box is worth little more than £5,000, and this figure drops quickly as age and wear and tear increase.”

Alexander continues, “With such a shortage of newer chassis to choose from, some of these older models have been kept in harness a little longer than usual. But, with or without the Low Emission Zone, their sell-by date is fast approaching. Over the last 18 months, many of these hard-used workhorses have been fetching poor prices at auction as they had very little life left in them. Now, another year older and with higher recorded mileage, their values will slip even lower to a point where dealers will view them as little more than mobile parts bins.

“Nobody should be overly concerned by supposed difficulty in selling Euro II trucks,” he adds.

Those operating Euro II trucks within London's LEZ, however, will be particularly hard hit. "A family-run firm making a daily 'fruit and veg' run into London markets using such a chassis will suffer, as a punitive daily bill of £200 will quickly kill off any profit. The likely outcome for these users will be a move from a small truck to a big van," Alexander concludes.