Yahoo – AFP, Clare BYRNE, July 6, 2017
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| In 2016, hybrid and electric cars accounted for 3.6 percent of new cars registered in Western Europe (AFP Photo/PATRICK HERTZOG) |
Paris (AFP)
- France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an
ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, new Ecology
Minister Nicolas Hulot announced Thursday.
"We
are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040,"
Hulot said, calling it a "veritable revolution".
Hulot
acknowledged that reaching the goal would be "tough", particularly
for automakers, but said that French carmakers Peugeot-Citroen and Renault were
well equipped to make the switch.
France, home
to Europe's second-biggest car industry, dominates its market for electric
vehicles, with the Renault Zoe far outselling other models in 2016.
On
Wednesday, Sweden's Volvo said it planned to phase out production of
petrol-only cars from 2019, with all new models to be either electric or
hybrids.
The
Chinese-owned group is the first major manufacturer to electrify all of its
models.
Hulot cited
Volvo as an example in making his surprise announcement, part of the
government's new stated plan to make France carbon neutral by 2050.
'Public
health' matter
Hulot, a
veteran environmental campaigner and TV presenter, was among several political
newcomers to whom President Emmanuel Macron gave top jobs in his government.
His
nomination was seen as a strong statement of Macron's commitment to greening
the economy.
Within days
of being elected, Macron crossed swords on social media with US President
Donald Trump, after Trump announced America's withdrawal from the Paris
agreement on curbing emissions.
France is
one of several European and Asian countries that have said they want to
dramatically reduce the amount of polluting petrol and diesel cars on their
roads.
India has
said it wants all cars sold there to be electric-powered by 2030.
Norway --
where electric cars topped the sales charts for the first time last month --
aims to end sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2025 and car giant Germany wants
to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2020.
Cyrille
Cormier of Greenpeace France expressed disappointment over Hulot's failure to
set out concrete measures.
The
minister said he would give low-income households a grant to help them replace
older cars with a cleaner model, but did not specify how much they would
receive.
"We
still do not know how we will achieve these objectives and respect these
ambitious promises," Cormier said.
Motorists
still continue to opt overwhelmingly for petrol and diesel models, usually
substantially cheaper.
In 2016,
hybrid and electric cars accounted for only 3.6 percent of new cars registered
in Western Europe, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers'
Association (ACEA).
The
greatest spurt in sales was for non-rechargeble hybrids, which rose 27.3
percent compared to 2015. Electric car registrations jumped by seven percent,
while plug-in hybrids grew by only 3.9 percent.
Hulot said
that weaning France off conventional cars was also a matter of "public
health".
Paris,
Lyon, Grenoble and other French cities have a chronic smog problem.
Analysts
are split on how quickly electric vehicles will displace those powered by
internal combustion engines.
The
29-nation International Energy Agency (IEA), formed after the 1973 oil crisis,
sees relatively modest growth, resulting in an eight percent market share --
about 150 million vehicles -- by 2040.
By
contrast, private forecaster Bloomberg New Energy Finance's predicts a
22-percent market share for electric vehicles by 2035.
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