Cars with a B environmental label: what will happen to them in 2023?

The end of 2022 is here and with it the arrival of 2023, which means the launch of new measures to curb and reduce polluting emissions in the big cities. Next year Low Emission Zones (ZBE) will come into force in many Spanish cities, specifically those with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

Most of them, it is expected, will have features similar to those in Madrid and Barcelona, although the town councils themselves will set their own regulations to control access of the most polluting vehicles to urban centres. For now, the most advanced are the town councils of these cities.

Madrid and Barcelona, setting the pace

The two main cities in the country are setting the trend. In Madrid, vehicles without a label, treated as if they had an A label may not circulate or park on the street within the ZBEs, and the ban is even extended inside the M-30 ring road. In Barcelona this remains in place within the ZBEs, so any car considered among the most polluting no longer has a place in the centre of these cities. In 2023, all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants will join.

But what about cars with a B label? These are petrol cars registered between 2001 and 2005 and diesel cars registered between 2006 and 2015. For now, in Madrid they can drive within the ZBEs and inside the M-30, but they cannot park on the street. They must head to the first car park they find and park there.

In Barcelona, for now there are no limitations, so they can keep driving and parking on the street within the designated zones. However, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has published a provision in the BOE (Official State Gazette) pointing to the most polluting vehicles. Specifically, the ZBE bans and restrictions can be read as follows: “will affect first and foremost the vehicles with the greatest polluting potential, such as A-label vehicles, and, progressively, B and C-label vehicles“.

B label

This means that at present, the restrictions mainly affect vehicles without a label, but little by little these restrictions will be extended to B and C-label vehicles. In principle, the arrival of 2023 should not mean major changes to the current regulations, but it must be borne in mind that before long, limitations will begin to be applied to B-label vehicles.

They will be followed, shortly after, by C-label vehicles, so if you have a petrol or diesel car with a B label, it is best to start thinking about replacing it with a newer one, because you could soon face serious problems driving in the city.