The representatives of the automobile sector did not have words harsh enough to describe their feeling with regard to the 2025 finance bill: “A serious threat for the automobile industry and the mobility of the French”, for example said the CSIAM, which represents foreign manufacturers established in the territory. Mobilians, which rather represents the voice of the dealers, did not say anything else… Reading the document presented by the Government allows us to see that the executive sees things in the big picture when it comes to the penalty.
120,000 cars in the viewfinder
First of all, on new vehicles, the trigger threshold should be lowered by 5g to start at 113g/CO2/km from January 1. Like the threshold which is evolving, the amounts will not be left behind. The maximum penalty in 2025 will be reached from 193g issued (194g today) and will be €70,000, compared to €60,000 to date. The executive also took the opportunity to present the future 2026 and 2027 penalty scales, with ever lower trigger thresholds and ever higher amounts. The maximum amount of penalty in a little over 2 years should reach €90,000! But just with the reduction in the threshold for triggering the penalty planned for 2025, the State should succeed in taxing around 120,000 additional new vehicles, if we project based on sales made during the first half of 2024.
In addition to the penalty which concerns the grams of CO2 emitted, the Government also wishes to reform the penalty based on the mass of vehicles. The lowering of the trigger threshold will only take place from 2026, it will be set at 1.5 tonnes, compared to 1.6 tonnes today.. There should nevertheless be some adjustments in 2025. Plug-in hybrid vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes will no longer be exempt, but they will still benefit from a reduction of 200 kg, within a limit of 15% of the total mass of the vehicle. vehicle. Simple hybrids, in addition, will be able to continue to benefit from a reduction of 100 kilos on the sole condition that their electric motor has a power of at least 40.8 horsepower.
Recent favored opportunities
The most notable reform, however, concerns imported used vehicles. You should know that to date, any used car imported less than 10 years old is likely to be hit with the same penalty as a new vehicle or almost, since a reduction is granted depending on the age of the vehicle. ‘machine. The current system will be completely overhauled. According to the executive, the European Commission has in fact initiated an infringement procedure against France on the subject!
In order to estimate the discount of a vehicle, two variables will come into play. The age of the car, expressed in months; its mileage too, which will be subject to different tranches and within a limit of 45,000 km from 2027. Example: a used car imported a year and a half ago currently benefits from a 10% discount on the penalty when it is first registered in France. In 2025, this same car will benefit from a reduction of 16% of the penalty, since it falls into the “13 to 18 months” bracket. The system will only be lenient with the most recent cars. A 9-year-old imported car is now entitled to a 90% reduction in its penalty. With the new system, the reduction will only reach 58%! The second variable that will come into play, namely mileage, will be added to the first. Thus a “use coefficient” will be invented which has 7 lines: less than 20,000 km, from 20,001 to 25,000 km, etc..
Each line gives the right to an additional percentage of discount, knowing that the maximum mileage from 45,001 km will grant a reduction of 3.5% maximum. New example, which only applies from 2027: a 4-year-old imported vehicle will benefit from a 33% penalty reduction because of its age, and an additional 3.5% since we can imagine that it has already traveled more than 45,001 km. The total penalty reduction will therefore reach 36.5%… compared to 40% in 2024. No impact study was delivered with the 2025 finance bill. According to customs figures, 88,202 used cars were imported into France in 2023but she admits to not having any data concerning their age. The CO2 penalty on new vehicles has already affected 45.3% of sales over the first nine months of this year. The finance bill will only become final after its discussion by Parliament. It is traditionally voted on just before Christmas.
