April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Porsche SE, maker of the 911 sports car, sued to halt London Mayor Ken Livingstone's plan to triple the city's daily traffic congestion charge to 25 pounds ($49) for the most-polluting cars.

Porsche filed the lawsuit seeking a judicial review of the charge in the High Court in London today, said Andrew Davis, a U.K. spokesman for the Stuttgart, Germany-based carmaker.

The company claims the fee will have a negligible benefit on the environment and is an unfair tax on drivers and families. The charge will affect as many as 33,000 drivers of models including Jaguar's XJ sedan and Porsche's Cayenne sport-utility vehicle.

``The mayor's proposal won't reduce congestion,'' Davis said in a telephone interview. ``Even by his own figures, the plan won't have an impact on the environment.''

Transport for London, the city agency that oversees public transportation in the U.K. capital, said the fee will lead to lower carbon-dioxide emissions as well as reduce traffic in the most congested areas of London.

Porsche ``should focus their attention on cutting CO2 emissions from the cars they produce, rather than pursuing this pointless legal action,'' Michele Dix, the agency's managing director of planning, said in a statement.

A judicial review is a procedure for challenging government decisions. If the court finds against a public body, it can be ordered to reconsider the decision.

October Implementation

The new rule, to take effect in October, requires owners of vehicles that emit more than 225 grams (7.9 ounces) of carbon dioxide a kilometer (0.6 mile) to pay the increased fee. That emissions level corresponds to the ``G'' band on the scale for calculating U.K. vehicle tax. The London charge will be waived for owners of the least-polluting vehicles, such as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid gasoline-electric powered car.

Cities that have imposed taxes on vehicles entering high- traffic areas include Stockholm, which set a fee of as much as 60 kronor ($10) a day starting in August 2007, and Singapore.

New York's City Council asked the state Legislature yesterday to enact Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion-pricing proposal, which starting a year from now would charge $8 per car and $21 per truck entering Manhattan from 60th Street south. Low- emission trucks would pay $7 and taxis and limousines would be assessed $1 for each trip that begins or ends in the zone.

61% Backing

Transport for London said a survey indicated that 61 percent of London residents support the 25-pound charge.

``It's high time Porsche stopped fighting popular initiatives and started manufacturing cleaner vehicles,'' said Tony Juniper, executive director of the environmental group Friends of the Earth. ``The majority of Londoners support these changes to the congestion charge.''

Porsche's least-polluting model, the 245-horsepower Boxster sports car, emits 222 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. Its most powerful vehicle, a Cayenne with a 500-horsepower engine, has a rating of 358 grams.

``Someone has to point out the lunacy of having something called a congestion charge that then targets emissions,'' said Michael Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura Securities in London. ``Porsche is rightly standing up to a policy that seems illogical.''

Porsche sells about 2,500 cars a year in London. About 150,000 vehicles enter the congestion zone each day, including 30,000 classed as band G models. Livingstone introduced the charge in central London in 2005 to reduce pollution and raise cash for public transportation.

Livingstone is seeking a third term in a May 1 election. His two main challengers, Conservative Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick, don't support the increase.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chad Thomas in Berlin at cthomas16@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 2, 2008 14:20 EDT