By Joe Simpson.
Anyone who's been in London for the last couple of weeks can't have missed the big changes to the congestion charge news, which will see cars that are high-emitters of CO2 (225g/km+) paying £25 a day to enter the zone from October 2008. That and the small matter of Porsche GB announcing it's seeking a judicial review on the issue - which sent the press into a total froth. We'd written a nice, 900-word blog analysing all this - but 'technical difficulties' saw it flushed down a cyber-drain. So while we try to resurrect that for next week, here's a similar - and perhaps equally interesting story that reaches us from France.
On the 1st of January 2008, anyone buying a new car in France had to contend with a changed taxation system for the 'carte grise' - which is sort of like the road tax/car permit. Details are somewhat sketchy - and mostly in French (see the table above for details), but if we understand correctly the new system connects the amount you pay or (the interesting bit) rebate you get at the time of purchase, with the car's CO2 emissions levels.
In the UK, and elsewhere, we have similar, sliding scale levels of road tax connected to the CO2 band your car falls into. This, and the new congestion charge plans all intend to 'incentivise' people into cleaner, low-emissions products.
But the French system goes a step further, and is rather clever, because it really incentivises. Called Eco-pastille, the system sets a 'break-even' point at around 130g/km of CO2. Buy a car the emits this level of CO2 and you pay 0 extra carte-gris charge compared to last year. But buy a car that emits more, and you now pay more - potentially a lot more. 2600 euros to be exact, on a Band G (250g/km+) car. The full table breakdown from Le Figaro is shown above.
The (positive) rub, is that if you buy a car that emits less than 130 g/km of CO2, the French Government actually starts to pay you back. So buy a 'Band A' Smart car and you get a 1000 euros cheque. But buy a 'voiture electrique' (electric car) and they give you a whacking 5000 euros rebate!
If Porsche is upset about the congestion charge in London, then doubtless they must be even more scared about the idea of something like this rolling out across Europe (We're not certain but it seems Spain and Ireland have introduced the same thing). But early signs are that it's not the absolute high end, super-expensive car makers that need worry. As a percentage of the purchase price, the tax hits their buyers less. Instead, in figures just released by the Comite des Constructeurs Francais d'Automobiles, comparing January 2008 sales to those of January 2007 - it's Mercedes (down 28.4 %), and Audi (down 30 %) that are the biggest losers. The big winner (and manufacturer with the lowest fleet CO2 average - coincidence?) was Fiat, up 14.4 % - though this might have been skewed by the introduction of the new 500.
What it could prove, is that really incentivising people, and bringing the pay point of a tax out into the open by making it a real issue consumers face head on at the point of car purchase, can have quick, dramatic impacts on consumer behaviour. Certainly, I wouldn't envy the job of a Merc dealer asking Monsieur to stump up "just an extra 2600 euros" now in green tax to complete the purchase of his E-class.
On the other hand, could this system see someone like Reva/G-wiz re-engineering their electric car for left hand drive, tempted by the idea of luring people in to showrooms on the premise of being able to present them with a cheque for 5000 euros as they drive off in a new car? We will watch this one's progression with close interest to see what happens. But it proves that it's not just us Brits who are being 'hit' with 'green' taxes on cars right now.
Graphic: Le Figaro
Posted by Joseph Simpson on 23rd February 2008.
Thanks for the information
Posted by: Maks | February 23, 2008 at 05:27 PM