Greater Manchester is tackling air pollution with a new digital platform that will enable businesses and other commercial vehicle operators to apply for central government support to buy low-emission vehicles ahead of the introduction of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone on 30 May 2022.

The new Financial Support Scheme service, due to launch in November, is built on QV Systems’ Accelerate technology, the end-to-end system for automotive lending, leasing, and financing used by the UK’s biggest car manufacturers, brokerages, and automotive lenders.

The service will enable any Greater Manchester business to check their eligibility for, and access to, grants and subsidised finance to upgrade their vehicle or fleet so they would be compliant when the Clean Air Zone is introduced and thereby not pay a daily charge to drive in the Zone. The process is fully automated: businesses just need to enter their details to check their eligibility, before being presented with a range of funding options from approved lenders and brokers.

Like other cities, Greater Manchester has been instructed by government to bring roadside levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollution within legal limits as soon as possible.

Building an eligibility and funding platform from scratch would have taken years, delaying air quality improvements for citizens living in Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities. Instead, Transport for Greater Manchester, which has developed the city-region’s Clean Air Plan on behalf of the 10 local authorities, turned to QV Systems and its proven Accelerate platform to support owners of commercial vehicles in the Greater Manchester area to check their eligibility and access funding.

“As a city region, we are committed to tackling air pollution, which is the biggest environmental public health issue facing the city-region and contributes to around 1,200 deaths in Greater Manchester alone each year,” said Councillor Andrew Western, Greater Manchester lead for Clean Air.

“That’s why we have developed a Clean Air Plan that not only helps us meet government requirements on nitrogen dioxide air pollution, but also delivers the funding support for those businesses, individuals and organisations who need to upgrade their vehicle to become compliant.

“We are looking forward to working with QV Systems to help us deliver the plan, improve the quality of our air and ensure Greater Manchester continues to be a healthy, sustainable and happy place to grow up, get on and get old.”

Daniel Layne, founder and CEO of QV Systems said, “This decade will see one of the biggest transformations in the history of personal transportation, with the phasing out of new petrol and diesel in favour of more environmentally friendly vehicles. The UK’s targets for clean air and the transition to greener fleets are among the most ambitious in the world.

“For local authorities, the challenge is how to help businesses access government funding. Greater Manchester has shown how proven technologies like Accelerate enables them to deliver these projects successfully within short timeframes, and to start delivering cleaner, healthier cities for all.”

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