As you may be aware from the news, effective July 28th 2025, significant changes are coming to Royal Mail's letter delivery service.
Driven by a decline in letter volumes and ongoing financial losses, Ofcom, the UK's postal regulator, has approved modifications to the Universal Service Obligation (USO). This means Royal Mail will reduce second-class letter deliveries (which includes Auto Express subscriptions) to alternating cycles (either Monday/Wednesday/Friday, or Tuesday/Thursday) and will also remove the Saturday service.
Below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions about what’s changing and what it means for you, and your subscription
Why is Royal Mail making these changes?
There has been a significant decline in the volume of letters being sent, while the cost of maintaining a six-day delivery service remains high. These changes aim to:
- Improve operational efficiency
- Reduce costs and increase financial stability
- Modernise services while preserving reliability
When will the changes happen?
It will take time for Royal Mail to roll out the changes, however, we expect them to move fairly quickly. Be sure to check back here regularly, we will update the information as soon as it becomes available to us.
You can also access the information directly from Royal Mail here
The postal mark on my subscription copy says Whistl, what do these changes have to do with me?
Whistl is our mail provider, Whistl collects and processes the magazines before handing over to Royal Mail to deliver the final mile.
All postal copies of Auto Express are delivered by Royal Mail.
When will my magazine arrive?
We will continue to process and mail all subscription copies of Auto Express as usual. Copies are handed over to Royal Mail on a Tuesday, with delivery to your letter box on either a Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the week your postcode is in.
Below we have shared an example of the postcode delivery schedule.
For example: Postcode AB1 2CD
On week A, homes in the AB1 2CD pstcode area should expect to receive 2nd class post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The same postcode the following week, on week B, should expect to see 2nd class post delivery Tuesday and Thursday.
Our commitment to you
We are actively seeking solutions to minimise any disruption to your service. But rest assured, you will still receive the same trusted, award-winning journalism, expert car reviews and in-depth motoring news that you expect from Auto Express every week.