Volvo Celebrates Greener Vehicle Discount with Free Chauffeur Service

Added by David Sandercock on January 1, 2011

In marking the introduction of London’s new Greener Vehicle Discount under the city’s current congestion charge, Volvo this week offered free chauffeur services into central London.

The “Drive for free” campaign assisted people travelling in the congestion charge zone by taking them to their appointments in the Volvo C30 sports coupe, S40 saloon or V50 sportswagon.

The new Greener Vehicle Discount initiative will mean that any Euro 5-compliant vehicle that emits less than 100g of carbon dioxide per kilometer travelled, regardless of powertrain, will be exempt from the daily congestion charge of £10 (US$15.5). The discount came into effect on January 4.

The successful implementation of the discount follows an 18-month campaign led by Volvo Car UK. The campaign urged London mayor Boris Johnson to review the previously implemented Alternative Fuel Discount under the congestion charge scheme.

Peter Rask, regional president of Volvo Car UK, said the new discount serves to address the unfairness of the earlier pricing structure, “which granted automatic exemption to all hybrid vehicles, despite the fact that certain models had higher emissions than some non-qualifying petrol or diesel powered models.”

Rask added that Volvo’s Emissions Equality campaign has created a more level playing field under the congestion charge scheme for all vehicles, regardless of powertrain.

The three models used by Volvo in the “Drive for free” campaign all qualify for the Greener Vehicle Discount with their 99g/km CO2 emissions. Next year a V60 estate using plug-in hybrid technology, emitting less than 50g/km will be launched. Prototypes of a full battery-electric C30 are also being evaluated.