Owners of polluting vehicles who have a Crit’Air 3 sticker, with a vehicle prior to 2006, will be able to continue driving within the perimeter between the ring road and the A86 motorway. the Greater Paris Metropolis has decided to postpone the ban on these vehicles to the beginning of 2023 at least. The deadline had already been postponed by 6 months and was theoretically due to take place in July 2022. This postponement is linked to two points. The first is the recognition of Greater Paris as a territory of experimentation for the implementation of a zero-rate loan in order to reduce the remainder to be paid by the most modest households “, which it helps up to 6,000 euros. in the purchase of a cleaner vehicle. The second point is the approval of speed cameras to carry out “automated penalty control”.
The car market got off to a bad start for the year
Registrations plunged 18.6% in January. The crisis is largely linked to the shortage of semiconductors. Due to delays in delivering cars, or orders that cannot be made, manufacturers can no longer sell as many cars as they would like due to production problems. However, manufacturers are more optimistic for the future. They expect a market of 1.8 million new cars in 2022, compared to 1.6 last year.
Surprise on the electric side: Dacia takes first place
It is indeed the Dacia Spring which was the best-selling electric car in France in January, with nearly 1,500 units. It is ahead of the Renault Zoé and the electric Peugeot 208. The Dacia had already managed to climb to fourth place in the best sales in 2021 when it only arrived on the market in the second half of the year. A success that can be explained by its unbeatable price: less than 13,000 euros thanks to the ecological bonus. The top 10 is completed by the Renault Twingo E-Tech, the Fiat 500, the Peugeot e-2008, the Hyundai Kona Electric, the Kia e-Niro, the Kia EV6 and the Mini Cooper SE.
And then, France will welcome a new giga battery factory
The French start-up Verkor will set up a giant factory in Dunkirk to produce batteries there from 2025. Partner of Renault, the young shoot will send these batteries to the Alpine brand, which will become 100% electric. In particular, they will slip under the floor of the brand’s future crossover. Verkor promises “low carbon” batteries with a division by 5 or even 10 of the carbon footprint of these batteries compared to those from other countries such as China. The Grenoble start-up completes the ecosystem of Renault, which also relies on other batteries produced in France by a company of Japanese origin and with Chinese capital, Envision.