Weight tax: a more severe penalty for electrified models?

It’s no longer a surprise to say that SUVs dominate salesand now manufacturers’ catalogs. Sedan, Coupe, Convertible, MPV : most of the traditional and historical categories in our country have disappeared. They have been replaced by their SUV equivalent. In 2022, minivans Scénic and C4 SpaceTourer have disappeared from the catalog. Among sedans, the Mondeo, Passat, IONIQ or even Talisman have also deserted the niche. All will be indirectly replaced by SUVs. Faced with this unstoppable wave, several actors are trying to cope. The enthusiasts of course, who have nostalgia for light models, fine lines, low silhouettes. But, more problematic for the owners, the Government and the local authorities…

Paris wants to overtax SUVs

From 1^is January 2022 already, the State has implemented in France a tax on the weight of new vehicles. Beyond an empty weight of more than 1.8 tons, the buyer must pay a tax of 10 euros per additional kilo. It is therefore €1,000 more for a 1.9 ton vehicle, or even €2,000 extra for a model weighing more than 2 tonnes (Range Rover, Mercedes G-Class and Porsche Cayenne in the viewfinder in particular). Issue, some electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles are very heavy. For good reason: the high weight of their battery! In the 1970s, for example, a mid-range sedan, the Ford Taunus, weighed only 960 kilos ! For comparison, a current Renault Zoé weighs 1,502 kg, a Volkswagen ID.3 1,812 kg, and an Audi Q8 e-tron up to 2,585 kg! A clean break…

The electrified models soon concerned?

The problem is that it might not work out… The Government could indeed tighten the rules of the ecological penalty from 2024 relating to the weight of new cars. By lowering it from 1.8 tonnes to… 1.6 tonnes! Many models would therefore be overtaxed because of their disabling weight, and in particular large models, such as SUVs. Hybrid and electric cars, although initially not affected, may have to follow these new rules from 2025… Will this mark the premature end of SUVs? Their large silhouette and heavy weight seem irreconcilable with the current ecological context, which aims to minimize the ecological footprint of the automobile. Manufacturers – and this is not so bad – will therefore have to get back to small models, sedans, coupes and convertibles, who knows?

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