Imposing greater taxes on emission-heavy vehicles is a relatively common practice, but France is increasing the tax required for SUVs significantly unless they are particularly light.
France is targeting heavy SUVs with a new emission-based tax and it looks set to add a significant cost to vehicles that meet the criteria. Environment Minister Barbara Pompili has announced the change that will primarily impact imported cars as the SUVs of French manufacturers largely fall beneath the taxable weight. The tax will begin adding up for every vehicle that passes the 1,800kg threshold, and drivers will have to pay €10 per kg from this point.
While this may not sound like a drastic amount when it is put alongside current SUVs, it is apparent that the tax is considerable. For example, the likes of the BMW X5 xDrive 30d will cost an additional €5450 using this tax model. This may also damage future sales of British SUVs when combined with the current political situation.
Models like the Jaguar E-Pace will cost an additional €1260, Car Throttle reports, and alongside an increase in trading costs because of the UK leaving the EU, the car manufacturer may be priced out of the market. While the companies who create the SUVs are unlikely to change the weight of their vehicles, they may attempt to cut down on weight when it is close to adding more tax.
There doesn’t seem to be a way around the tax, with hybrid SUVs also facing this fee. With that in mind, this could benefit French manufacturers like Peugeot and Renault who have SUVs below the taxable weight, while diminishing the market for foreign SUV makers. It will be interesting to see if companies can think of a way to avoid this taxation on purchases or whether the price of SUVs will generally see an increase in France.
