Congestion Charge Set to Generate £40m More in 2026, Prompting Luxury Car Owners to Reconsider City Driving

Estimated £40m Increase in Congestion Charge Earnings for TfL in 2026

Drivers in London could be hit with an extra £40 million in Congestion Charge fees when the daily charge increases from £15 to £18 from 2 January 2026, according to new research from cinch, the UK’s leading online used car retailer.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was submitted to Transport for London (TfL), which revealed that £202.8 million was generated in Congestion Charge payments between April 2024 and March 2025. Based on these volumes, cinch analysis suggests the price increase could push total TfL revenue to more than £243 million in 2026.

Ben Welham, motoring expert at cinch, commented, “The £3 daily increase means a commuting driver will pay £4,500 per year in Congestion Charge fees if they drive into the capital five days a week, a hike of £750.”

“Our analysis, based on 250 working days per year, highlights the heavy financial impact the increase will have on individual drivers and businesses.”

Congestion Charge Has Tripled Since 2003

Since its introduction at £5 per day in 2003, the Congestion Charge cost has increased by 200% to its current £15 level.

The 20% increase coming in January 2026 is due to be followed by annual increases in the charge from 2027 onwards, in line with other TfL fares on trains, buses and the London Underground.

Incentivising EV Adoption

Electric vehicle drivers are liable for the Congestion Charge for the first time from 2 January 2026. However, they can take advantage of a 25-50% discount by setting up Auto Pay.

Welham explained: “EV drivers will be hit with the charge for the first time, but car drivers will get 25% off and van drivers will get 50% off the daily £18 fee by setting up Auto Pay. Petrol and diesel HGV drivers can also benefit from a 50% saving by using Auto Pay.”

Methodology for data collection

cinch, the UK’s leading online used car retailer, submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Transport for London, requesting data on the number of Congestion Charge payments made and the revenue earned between January 2024 and May 2025.

As of 23 June 2025, Transport for London responded with the full dataset, which has been analysed to estimate the revenue that could be generated by TfL in 2026 through Congestion Charge payments made.

The estimated total revenue (over £243.4 million) TfL is set to earn in 2026 from Congestion Charge payments is based on the total revenue generated across a 12-month period, between Apr 24 to Mar 25 (£202,835,281). This is the latest data available. cinch combined the revenue generated across 12 months with additional revenue (£40,567,056) TfL is set to generate in 2026 due to increasing the Congestion Charge by 20%.

About cinch

cinch, the UK’s leading online used car retailer, takes the faff out of finding, buying and owning a car. Buyers can browse thousands of cars on the cinch website and app, using the Help Me Choose tool to narrow down their search. Once a customer has bought a car online, they can have it delivered to their door or collect from over 100 locations across the UK. cinch also offers cinchServicing and MOTs at over 100 locations across the UK – whether the car was bought from cinch or not.

cinch is backed by the Constellation Automotive Group, the UK and Europe’s largest market-leading integrated digital car marketplace. The Group operates some of the most well-known brands in the automotive industry including WeBuyAnyCar, BCA, cinch and Marshall Motor Group, who together employ over 16,000 people across 12 countries and provide services that involve over 11 million different vehicles each year.

Sources

https://www.cinch.co.uk/news/congestion-charge-increase

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-licensing-statistics-2024/vehicle-licensing-statistics-united-kingdom-2024#:~:text=these%20statistics%20section.-,Headline%20figures,Body%20type