A tax will soon increase the price of many cars, some to unprecedented proportions.
Buying a car is a luxury for many French people. And it could well be even more so very soon. The new government, which intends to replenish the state coffers in 2025, plans to strengthen taxes and this also concerns those relating to automobiles. Entered into force on January 1, 2008, the ecological penalty is a type of disguised tax on the sale of new cars. It penalizes the purchase of the most polluting vehicles by inflating their prices. But as the years go by, the list of affected cars grows longer.
If you are planning to buy a car, we can only advise you not to delay too long. If the 2025 finance bill is passed, the ecological penalty will concern almost all vehicles on the market, with the exception of electric cars which are exempt. Today, this tax concerns all vehicles that emit more than 118 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The text plans to lower the triggering of the penalty to 113g in 2025, to 106g in 2026 and finally from 99g in 2027. Suffice to say that even the smallest city dweller will be penalized, which will have ripple effects on the wallet of all motorists.
Above all, if the thresholds for triggering the penalty fall, the amount of taxes increases. In 2024, the minimum was 50 euros for the “least” polluting cars. Small city cars, such as the popular and still very sold Renault Clio, saw their dealership prices increase by 50 euros. Their penalty could rise to 170 euros from next year. A significant sum for the smallest budgets, and we are only talking about the least taxed models. Because, as you have understood, the more carbon dioxide a vehicle emits, the more its penalty increases.
In 2024, the scale provided for an additional cost of…60,000 euros for models emitting more than 194 grams of CO2. Some fairly affordable sports cars, but also quite powerful SUVs, have seen their prices double or almost double. This is for example the case of the Toyota Yaris in its 260 horsepower sports version, which has a price of 72,000 euros whereas it is worth 37,000 without the penalty!
It will be even worse in the years to come since the increase in the penalty should gradually and sharply increase for the most severely sanctioned vehicles: 70,000 euros next year, 80,000 euros in 2026 and up to 90,000 in 2027. In three years, the Toyota Yaris GR would cost around 127,000 euros, almost four times its base price. Enough to discourage potential buyers and push manufacturers to stop production of certain models.