BAR Affiliate Bespoke Bodies has teamed up with one of the UK’s leading emissions treatment specialists to offer movers Euro 6 vehicle conversions for their non-compliant vehicles, allowing free access to Low Emission Zones.

The Warrington-based company has struck an exclusive deal with exhaust treatment specialist GreenUrban to supply and fit its unique emissions abatement devices for the removals industry. The manufacturers claim the device will bring vehicles as old as Euro 3 up to Euro 6 standards, enabling them to be used within the Clean Air Zones and Ultra Low Emission Zones due to be introduced in London and several other UK cities in 2019.

Laura Yardley of Bespoke Bodies explained, “These emission standards are of particular concern for movers as they operate large, highly customised vehicles that represent a significant capital investment. Replacing them with new vehicles is simply not cost-effective, and neither is paying the crippling daily fees. The understandable anxiety this is causing among our customers led us to seek out an answer to this looming problem. It’s for this reason that we’ve teamed up with an exhaust specialist to offer movers a straightforward and inexpensive solution: the Euro 6 Retrofit.”

The pollution caused by diesel engines has been the focus of ever-tighter regulation in recent years, and there’s every sign this is likely to continue. The particulates produced by unfiltered diesel engines contain Group 1 carcinogens, and the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emitted are known to cause and worsen several serious respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and bronchitis.

For this reason, the introduction of the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in 2008 has seen operators with Euro 3 and older vehicles charged daily fees of up to £200 per day for entering the zone. In 2019, the Ultra-Low Emission Zone will come into force, with additional fees of £100 per day for vehicles not compliant with Euro 6.

Laura continued, “The conversion to Euro 6 has been done on vehicles as old as Euro 3, so it’s pretty safe to say that practically all of the trucks now on the road can be converted. The cost depends on the actual vehicle, but is usually around £13-£15k. Compared to the cost of replacing with new vehicles, it’s a no-brainer. For movers who regularly operate in London or one of the proposed Clean Air Zones, the fees saved alone will probably pay for the conversion in under a year.”

Bespoke Bodies says the conversion takes between two and four days to install, depending on the vehicle, and can be carried out either at its factory in Warrington or in the customer’s own workshop.

Although 2019 seems a long way off Laura is urging moving companies to get in touch without delay. “18 months sounds like a long time, but it really isn’t,” said Laura. “As the uLEZ and CAZ introduction date draws near, we are already seeing demand for these systems rising steadily. We anticipate there will be a ‘mad rush’ in the run-up to the date that will probably result in longer lead-times for installations, and that may mean movers are left with little option but to pay the exorbitant fees while they wait for their slot. The last thing we want to see is movers left unable to work, so to help them, we’re offering an early adopter package on the conversion that has a full 5-year warranty two-years more than standard - so that movers don’t lose anything by converting early. Getting everything sorted out now will really pay dividends later.”

Photo: Bespoke Bodies will install on customer’s premises