Major car hire company Zipcar has suspended its operations in the UK, warning it could leave the country altogether if Sadiq Khan presses ahead with abolishing the Congestion Charge exemption for electric vehicles.
This comes after last month the company proposed shutting down its UK operations by the end of the year.
Bosses had warned the firm could leave if Sadiq Khan pressed ahead with abolishing the Congestion Charge exemption for electric vehicles, a new charging regime that came into effect today (January 2), the Daily Mail reported.
Opening the Zipcar app in a UK location displays the message: ‘No cars available nearby.’ It is consulting with its 71 employees on their future – but the outcome looks bleak.
Car clubs offer easy short–term access vehicles to those who don’t own one of their own. Zipcar was the biggest in the capital, giving people affordable access to cars and vans for as little as an hour at a time, with fuel and charging included, the Daily Mail also reported.
Quoted by the Daily Mail, Richard Dilks, chief executive of campaign group CoMoUK, told an emergency London Assembly meeting last month: “The impact is profound, but we do not yet understand it fully. We have not experienced it yet.
‘My suspicion is that if we do not all come together and put our shoulders to the wheel on this, and even if we do, through 2026 we will see the true horror revealing itself of just how much this mattered.”
Last month, James Taylor, general manager of Zipcar UK, told customers: “I’m writing to let you know that we are proposing to cease the UK operations of Zipcar and have today started formal consultation with our UK employees.
“We will temporarily suspend bookings, pending the outcome of this consultation.
“This means it will not be possible to make any new bookings beyond December 31, 2025, pending the outcome of the consultation.”
The Daily Express understands the Zipcar’s UK operation had 71 employees at the end of 2024, according to its most recently filed accounts.
Accounts showed that the van and car hire firm saw losses deepen to £5.7 million in 2024 after a decrease in customer trips.