Last Thursday, during his speech on the reindustrialization of France, Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic, indicated that the automobile bonus would now take into account the “carbon footprint” to support what is produced in Europe.
An environmental measure certainly, but partly eclipsed by its request to the European Union for a “European regulatory pause on environmental constraints”, arguing the European advance in the field and the need for stability.
Less than 2% of vehicles in metropolitan France are eligible for the ZFE 2030
A request that echoes the debate that the elected officials of the Greater Paris Metropolis (MGP) must have on June 30 about the ban on Crit’Air 3 vehicles in the Low Emission Zone (ZFE). Already postponed twice, this step could still be postponed to the end of 2024 or 2025. However, at the end of April, the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop (Apur) published a report showing that if the number of vehicles in the metropolis continues to decline, a constant since 2018, the path to 100% clean vehicles, planned for 2030, is still very, very long.
On July 1, 2022, Apur recorded 2,942,000 vehicles registered in the Greater Paris Metropolis, a decrease of 1.2% (35,000 light vehicles) compared to the previous year. This is good news for the environment since these vehicles represent 9% of fine particle emissions in the region. At the same time, the number of clean vehicles (electric or hydrogen) increased by 53%. Allowing the Workshop to note an “existing” renewal and able to “contribute to the improvement of air quality”. But these vehicles represent barely 2% of the intra-A86 vehicle fleet, showing a “greening” of the vehicle fleet that is still too slow to achieve its 2030 target.
Up to 50% of vehicles ineligible for Crit’Air 3 in certain areas
“Obviously, the transition is not easy,” comments Corentin Duprey, vice-president in charge of mobility for the Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis. According to the elected official, too many obstacles still stand on the road to 2030. The first of them remains the cost of clean vehicles: “They are very expensive, even by combining the available aid. »
An observation shared by Étienne Diot, general delegate of Eco Entretien, specializing in the automobile. In a survey conducted by the association in 2022, 36% of respondents claimed “not to have the beginning of a euro to replace their Crit’Air 3, 4 or 5 car”. “In some areas, we reach peaks of 50% of ineligible vehicles to the next restrictions. And the owners of these cars are those who have the least means to be able to change them and who need them the most,” worries Etienne Diot.
Do not forget the environmental objective
And if Seine-Saint-Denis is one of the most affected areas, there is no question for Corentin Duprey of giving up the ecological fight: “The consequences of pollution are too great and are counted in thousands of deaths (8,000 deaths per year in Ile-de-France according to Airparif) and respiratory diseases every year. Our department pays a heavy price with the A1, A3, A86 motorways and the many homes along the ring road. »
For the elected official, the solutions lie first in an increase in state investment so that the transition is “acceptable and accepted”: “We need more aid and above all make it legible. A readability claimed by Geoffroy Boulard, Deputy Vice-President for Communication and Digital Innovation for Communication and Digital Innovation at MGP: “We have organized a one-stop shop on the metropolitan site where residents can apply for up to 22,000 euros in aid for the purchase of a new vehicle. Of the 5,200 files submitted, we have already responded favorably to 4,000. »
The elected officials ask for more aid from the State
Even second-hand vehicles can now benefit from assistance. A point on which the MGP wants to press: “We asked the manufacturers to make an effort on the prices, today the difference between new and used is not attractive enough”, testifies Geoffroy Boulard.
To make these even more accessible, the MGP is asking the State to accede to the request for a zero-rate loan for clean vehicles. Last lever so that the most modest can still consider the acquisition of these models. “With the postponement, no later than January 1, 2025 for the Crit’Air 3, the State has time to put this measure in place. »
Are the manufacturers ready?
There remains the technological question: would manufacturers be able to keep up with the pace of a sharp increase in demand if it were to materialize? Difficult to answer according to Geoffroy Boulard: “French manufacturers have fallen behind on this point. The market has gone global so maybe the solution lies elsewhere, but it will be a shame for our flagships. »
For Étienne Diot, barring a miracle, the answer is negative. “The market represents 1.5 million sales per year across the country. It would take decades to replace everything at this rate. Perhaps the idea of vehicles available for leasing, as proposed by Emmanuel Macron, could accelerate the transition, if applicable.
Put the package on the modal shift
This is why Corentin Duprey does not limit his investment requests to the car “We must also focus on modal shift, continue to develop the cycle offer and especially public transport”, he insists before cite the examples of the extension of the T1 line to Val Fontenay station, of the T8 to the south of the department or the requested extensions of metro lines 1 and 7.
It also encourages the denser meshing of bus networks with, for example, the T Zen networks on their own site. “Places like Stains, which are among the most affected by Crit’Air 3, are also those which are the most underserved. A wish that could be granted, in particular by the will of Île-de-France Mobilités to build around fifty lines of express coaches.
“It is obvious that a project of this magnitude is not without difficulties. Even having started in 2018, we still have a lot to do. We hope that the State will also be there. The positive point is that all the actors of the metropolis, whatever their political side are committed in this direction, notes Geoffroy Boulard who hopes to reassure the most worried, we prefer to postpone certain deadlines to do things well, rather than to do everything very quickly and then regret bad choices. »