The 2024 ecological penalty proves that it is time to switch to electric cars

The ecological penalty planned for 2024 clearly indicates that the era of the 100% electric car has arrived. Mild hybridization, once seen as a viable intermediate alternative, will no longer be enough in the short term to escape financial sanctions.

The ecological penalty, introduced to encourage purchases of less polluting vehicles, will increase significantly in 2024.

From January 1 of the same year, the official scale of the new ecological penalty will be more penalizing : the threshold for triggering the penalty will be lowered to 118 g/km of CO2, introducing an initial penalty of 50 euros. The ceiling, for its part, will reach the staggering amount of 60,000 euros.

Thus, many thermal vehicles will be directly impacted. For example, a car like the 208, sold from 19,200 euros, will see a penalty of 100 euros applied. However, this amount can quickly increase, making the purchase of these vehicles less and less attractive.

Weight penalty and hybrid cars concerned

THE weight penalty, which applied to vehicles whose weight exceeded 1.8 tonnes, will see its threshold lowered to 1.6 tonnes. This measure will also concern plug-in hybrid vehicles from 2024.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles, previously spared from these taxes, will therefore also be impacted, thus reducing the appeal of these half-thermal, half-electric alternatives.

Faced with these new provisions, the complete electrification of cars seems inevitable and urgent. Mild hybridization, once considered a viable intermediate solution, will soon no longer be sufficient to avoid these financial penalties.

In this context, switching to electric cars is no longer an option, but a necessity. The ecological bonus, put in place to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles, will be maintained. However, the government is also introducing an “environmental score”. The exact details and consequences of this new rating system remain to be defined, but they reflect the government’s desire to favor European industry and always 100% electric.