France to end sales of petrol, diesel engines by 2040
07 Jul 2017
France plans to end the sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, Emmanuel Macron's government has announced.
The announcement comes after Volvo said earlier this week that it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019 onwards. Volvo's decision has been hailed as the end of the road for the internal combustion engine's dominance of motor transport after over a century (See: All new Volvo models to be fully electric or hybrids from 2019).
Nicolas Hulot, the country's new ecology minister, said: ''We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.'' He added that the move was a ''veritable revolution''.
He added it would be a ''tough'' objective for car makers but French industry was well positioned to make the switch. ''Our [car] makers have enough ideas in the drawer to nurture and bring about this promise ... which is also a public health issue.''
Professor David Bailey, an automotive industry expert at Aston University, said, ''The timescale involved here is sufficiently long term to be taken seriously, The Guardian reported. If enacted it would send a very clear signal to manufacturers and consumers of the direction of travel and may accelerate a transition to electric cars.''
According to commentators, the timing of the announcement was also significant, a day after Volvo's announcement on phasing out the internal combustion engine, which coincided with President Trump's visit to Europe.
Commentators say the announcement was an expression of European leaders' determination to pursue an environmental agenda despite Trump's repudiation of the Paris accord on climate change.
The plan to phase out gasoline and diesel cars formed part of an effort by France to limit global warming, which Hulot outlined yesterday. France also plans to stop issuing new oil and gas exploration permits this year, and stop using coal to produce electricity by 2022, he said.
