France

Just four months after France’s Prime Minister announced a new EV subsidy program to incentivize drivers to go all-electric, the government is putting a halt to the savings, at least for the rest of the year.

The new year has brought some new, tighter restrictions for drivers in France, particularly for those driving heavy, polluting cars. As of January 1, the government has revised its malus écologique, a one-time penalty tax for registering bulky, CO2-emitting cars, to include a lot more ICE vehicles, even some of the most popular budget models. 

It was a very good year in France for electric cars, for all kinds of reasons – among them, new cheaper cars entering the market supported by generous government subsidies. In 2023, 26% of new cars sold in France were battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, a huge 47% jump from 2022. 

France aims to democratize access to electric vehicles with a freshly launched “social leasing” program that allows low-income drivers to lease electric cars for as low as €40, about $43. That includes no down payment and free charging, in some cases, for six months.

Today, France has revealed its list of electric vehicles now eligible for federal tax incentives of up to €7,000. As expected, EVs made in China – including Tesla’s Model 3 and the Dacia Spring, the cheapest EV on the market – didn’t make the cut.

McDonald’s, or “McDo” as the French say, is installing 2,000 new fast charging points across 700 car parks in France by 2025. Each McDonald’s charging station will offer 150-200 kilowatts of power, so you can recharge your car in about the time it takes to inhale a Big Mac and extra-large frites.

The European Union is not fooling around, and European countries are under pressure to adhere to ambitious plans to get their roadways up and ready for the total phaseout of fossil fuels in the years ahead. To this end, both France and Denmark have just announced huge investments in building out their electric vehicle charging infrastructure to adhere to new EU regulations announced this summer. France will put €200 million into expanding fast charging stations within the country, and Denmark has earmarked €91.5 million to focus on charging for heavy-transport vehicles.

France has received the green light from the European Commission to start cracking down on ultra-polluting short-haul flights within the country, starting with a ban on three popular flights from Paris-Orly Airport. The country also aims to curb the use of private jets in an effort to both reduce CO2 emissions and keep up the social media backlash against the super-rich jet set in a time of soaring inflation and energy cutbacks.

France and Ireland signed contracts on Friday to advance the Celtic Interconnector, a subsea electricity link to allow the exchange of electricity between the two EU countries. It will be the first interconnector between continental Europe and Ireland. 

France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480 megawatt (MW) Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully up and running.

Installation of all 80 offshore wind turbines off the west coast of France has been completed, with France’s first offshore wind farm scheduled to be up and running by the end of the year. The Saint Nazaire site will produce enough power to cover 20% of total electricity consumption of the Loire-Atlantic, or around 700,000 people.

Following President Emmanuel Macron’s re-election in France this year, he has begun making good on a promise he made during his campaign to make electric vehicles more affordable. The government is reportedly working out how quickly it can roll out a new measure that would make leases for some EVs available to the people of France for only 100 euros a month.

Ooh la la! France will now pay you €4,000 (nearly US $4,000) to swap your old polluting car for a cleaner, more efficient, and more city-appropriate electric bicycle. That marks a major increase in the incentive designed to improve French cities.

I’ve been calling for an electric-only division of motorcycle licenses for years, now that e-motos are gaining in popularity. We aren’t there yet, but at least now some new riders can learn to ride and get their motorcycle license entirely on an electric two-wheeler.

GE Renewable Energy announced yesterday on Twitter that the first GE Haliade 150-6 megawatt (MW) wind turbine has now been installed at St. Nazaire, France’s first offshore wind farm.

A new law in France will soon require automakers to include a disclaimer in their advertisements encouraging more energy-efficient transportation alternatives such as walking, biking, or public transit.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced an €8 billion ($8.8 billion) plan Tuesday to revive the country’s auto industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing production and sales of electric vehicles is central to the plan.

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France’s new environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, has announced a series of measures today aiming to make France a carbon neutral country by 2050.

The most radical one is a ban on petrol and diesel cars in 2040.
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France is among the many European markets that greatly helped Tesla grow its fleet in 2015. The automaker delivered a total of 50,580 cars globally last year, which represents an overall 60% increase over 2014, while the company’s deliveries grew 115% in France in 2015.
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France-based automaker Citroën officially announced yesterday the all-electric E-MEHARI. Although the car is officially based on the company’s flagship vehicle of the same name built between 1968-1988, it seems to borrow more design cues from the Bolloré Blue Summer which can be explained by the fact that the E-Méhari is built on Bolloré ‘s electric platform.
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