Between 2019 and 2024, the number of unique classic cars, or old-timers, driving through Brussels’ Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) more than tripled, from around 4,500 to nearly 14,000 vehicles. This is according to figures from Brussels Environment that Member of Parliament Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) requested.

According to the Brussels parliamentarian, this indicates that these cars are no longer used solely for ‘Sunday drives,’ but rather serve as a loophole to circumvent increasingly strict environmental regulations for regular cars.

‘O’ license plate

Since the introduction of the LEZ in Brussels in 2018, older diesel and gasoline cars have been gradually banned based on the Euro standard and fuel type.

However, an exception applies to cars older than 30 years with an ‘O’ license plate, or a classic car emblem: they receive an automatic and permanent exemption in Brussels. This means they are allowed unlimited access to the city, regardless of how much pollution they emit.

This exception was introduced at the time to protect the city’s automotive heritage. It was explicitly intended to allow hobbyists and collectors to continue driving their historic vehicles.

It was also assumed that these shiny Beetles, old Corvettes, or Aston Martins were cherished purely as a hobby, driven no more than a few hundred kilometers per year, and therefore had only a limited impact on air quality.

Loophole in the legislation?

But now it appears there is a new phenomenon, or perhaps a loophole in that legislation, because the number of cars with an ‘O’ license plate recorded by the LEZ cameras is on the rise.

In 2019, 3,936 such vehicles were recorded by the ANPR cameras, but by 2024, that number had risen to 13,799. The number of classic cars used for more than 100 days a year is also on the rise: from 17 in 2019 to 156 last year. There are currently 6,892 classic cars registered in Brussels, a number that continues to grow.

Worrying trend

According to Brussels Member of Parliament Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), this is a worrying trend that suggests classic car status is being used to circumvent the LEZ.

A car from 1994 or 1995 – think of an old Volkswagen Golf Variant, a Peugeot 205, or an early Audi A4 – is legally considered a classic car. For many people, however, these are not ‘historical cultural artifacts,’ but simply inexpensive, functional cars.

Because they are automatically allowed into the LEZ via the ‘O’ plate, some people use them purely as a budget-friendly alternative to bypass the environmental zone.

“Enthusiasts shouldn’t be targeted,” Dalle said in his own press release, “but if more and more classic cars are driving around Brussels, the government must intervene before this problem gets out of hand.” Especially since, in general, the older the vehicle, the higher its emissions of harmful substances.

For your information: While classic cars are exempt from the LEZ, their use is subject to certain regulations. They may not be used for commuting to work or school, nor for professional or commercial purposes. In such cases, the vehicle must retain a standard license plate, which means that the LEZ exemption expires.

In addition, the taxes and insurance premiums may be lower than for a normally registered vehicle over 30 years old, and the inspection requirements are less stringent.

And there is another sticking point: the LEZ doesn’t check whether classic cars are being used correctly. That responsibility falls to the police. “That means the automatic exemption is difficult to enforce in practice,” Dalle says. “That’s precisely why the classic car regime must be included in the reform of the LEZ.”

Changes will be implemented by 2030

State Secretary for the Environment Ans Persoons (Vooruit) acknowledges that the upward trend in the average number of days per year when classic cars are used could indicate a new phenomenon.

But she also points out that this accounts for only a fraction of the registered cars on Brussels’ roads, namely, 0,38% in 2025, and that using a classic car to circumvent the LEZ doesn’t make much sense.

Old gasoline-powered cars manufactured after 2001 are still permitted on the roads until 2028 anyway. In other words, a regular 20-year-old who uses a gasoline-powered car also meets the requirements and may be used legally for commuting.

“But that could change starting in 2030, when the access criteria for gasoline cars will also become stricter,” she says on the BRUZZ website. From then on, Euro 4 gasoline cars will no longer be permitted.

That is why experts suspect that a growing number of drivers are already anticipating. A car from, say, 1995 is now considered a classic car and will remain so even after 2030. Brussels Environment will therefore evaluate the use of classic cars as part of the ongoing reform of the LEZ, with the aim of closing any potential loopholes by 2030.