On January 24, a forum published in Les Echos was signed by several French ministers denouncing, “A serious political error which would permanently weaken the European automotive industry in its transition to electric “. This position is part of The 2035 deadlinedate on which New carburee thermal vehicles will be prohibited for sale. It should also be taken into account that Brussels has developed a calendar with severe fines to dissuade, now and up to 2035, the sale of petrol or diesel cars. This penalizes our manufacturers! But how does this system work?
In 2025, any thermal vehicle sold new emitting more than 81 grams of CO2 per kilometer will be haloed by a penalty paid by the manufacturer in Brussels. It is therefore a withdrawal of 95 euros per gram of CO2 above the threshold.
A problematic recourse to carbon credits
For example, a mega Renault with petrol or a 3008 Peugeot emit an average of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the fine will then amount to at least 3,700 euros for each model sold new this year. This considerable invoice is nevertheless reduced by clean vehicles sold by these manufacturers, the electric and rechargeable hybrids. The problem, however, lies on the side of electric models which sell less well. Their sales fell in 2024, and could represent a load of 15 billion euros Just this year! Car manufacturers can nevertheless maintain afloat thanks to the operation of the system. The latter have the possibility, if they do not want to pay the fines, to buy carbon credits to manufacturers who only sell electrics and who are largely below the threshold.
However, these carbon credits sellers are notably Chinese like Byd or Americans like Tesla. Clearly, Europeans, to escape fines, are obliged to subsidize their competitors who have already made their transition to electric. Tesla, for example, would have received with this system 9 billion euros between 2019 and 2024 thanks to the sale of carbon credits to Europeans. If this solution may seem aberrant, it also deprives manufacturers means they need to develop New electric ranges. In this context, many hope that the petition of the French, who would like to spread the charge over several years, will carry. The file is now in the hands of the European Commission.
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