More than one million vans on the road at the end of last year would not be eligible for London’s new Low Emission Zone when it is introduced on January 3, 2012, new research by the SMMT shows.

It reports that that 31.1% - 1.11 million - of the UK’s 3.57m vans will not be able to be driven within the LEZ without paying a daily charge, while London-registered vans exceeded the the national average with 37% of vans (almost 85,000) not meeting the emission standards.

The changes to the LEZ will require larger vans, minibuses and other specialist diesel vehicles to meet Euro 3 emission standards in order to be driven within the LEZ without paying a daily charge.

Typically, Euro 3 vehicles are those registered after January 1, 2002, affecting those that will be 10 years old from January next year.

The LEZ will continue to apply to heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) but from 3 January 2012, the regulations will demand an increase from Euro III to Euro IV standards.

Vehicles first registered as new on or after 1 October 2006 will meet the Euro IV standard, but the 2010 Motorparc shows that 32% nationally, and 29% in Greater London, do not meet the LEZ threshold.