Towards a “retroactive” ecological penalty when purchasing a used vehicle?

Bad news for the millions of French people who are turning to the second-hand market to buy their cars. In search of new revenue to reduce the public deficit, the government would consider extending the ecological penalty to these vehicles, reports France Info .

A retroactive penalty on the first resale of the vehicle?

Today, this tax is only applied to new vehicles. It aims “to encourage buyers to favor the purchase of less polluting vehicles”indicates the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry on its website. The more polluting the vehicle, taking into account the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometer, the higher the tax. The bill can quickly climb since the penalty goes from €50 for 118 g CO₂/km at €60,000 from 193 g CO₂/km. Conversely, zero-emission vehicles can benefit from an ecological bonus.

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But the finance bill for 2025, currently being examined by the National Assembly, provides for a strengthening of this system in article 9. “In 2026, a retroactive penalty will apply to the registration of any vehicle that was not subject to a penalty on first registration”we can read in a note from the ministry published on October 18, 2024. In other words, polluting used vehicles which have never been subject to this tax will be subject to the first resale of the vehicle. The penalty would only be applied once over the life of the car.

An overall tightening of the ecological penalty

Certain vehicles will remain exempt from this penalty, such as wheelchair accessible vehicles, vehicles acquired by a “disabled” person or even those “whose energy source is exclusively electricity, hydrogen or a combination of the two”.

The final terms will only be known after promulgation of the text, scheduled for the end of December. But this measure would contribute to an overall tightening of the ecological penalty desired by the government. The scale for the year 2025 has in fact been revealed and the penalty will apply from 113 g of CO₂ per kilometer, instead of 118 currently. Even if the deputies reject the extension to used vehicles, the government could push through with recourse to 49.3.