It is no longer surprising to say SUVs dominate sales and manufacturers’ catalogs.

Sedan, coupe, cabriolet, minivan. Most of the traditional and historical categories have disappeared here.

They were replaced by their SUV equivalent. Minivans in 2022 Scénic and C4 SpaceTourer are gone from the catalog. Among sedans, Mondeo, Passat, IONIQ or even Talisman have left their niche.

All will be indirectly replaced by SUVs. Faced with this unstoppable wave, several actors struggle to cope. Of course, enthusiasts who have nostalgia for light models, thin lines, low silhouettes. But the problem is more for the owners, the Government and local authorities…

Paris wants to increase the tax on SUVs

From 1^Er Already in January 2022, the state introduced a tax on the weight of new vehicles in France.

If the weight of the empty vehicle exceeds 1.8 tons, the buyer must pay a tax of the amount 10 euros for an additional kilogram. So that’s €1,000 more for a 1.9 ton car. Even 2,000 euros extra for a model weighing more than 2 tons. In particular, Range Rover, Mercedes G-Class and Porsche Cayenne in the viewfinder. At the local level now there is a city of Paris that wants to crack down… The city council session at the beginning of June officially approved the introduction of a tax on SUVs parked in the capital! But this is not the only element that matters.

“We ask to introduce progressive pricing from January 1, 2024 parking depending on the duration, motorization, size and weight of the cars “.

They would create restrictions for local residents, both aesthetic and safety.

Several reasons are given

Elected officials criticize them for being too large that they can intrude on public space and contribute to a certain amount of visual pollution. As Paris strives to banish the car, favor softer modes of movement and provide more space for greenery and pedestrians, SUVs are an additional drag. They also point with their fingers the danger they can pose to pedestrians.

“The heaviest vehicles cause more serious crashes, particularly tall vehicles such as SUVs, whose bumpers are at the level of pedestrians’ vital organs.”

Finally, the last argument to justify this allowance comes from Crit’Air decals that do not contain any weight or size regulations.

” Crit’Air vignettes, the national tool used to apply the ZFE, do not include a weight and size criterion, effectively favoring electric vehicles, but very heavy and penalizing lighter internal combustion vehicles. »

Now that this decision has been taken, Paris City Hall will have to fight to make this new text known and understood by the owners concerned. First of all, we are waiting for the amount and terms of submission…

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