France to phase out diesel, rank cars for pollution

bmw-320d-infiniti-euro-5

For a region so in love with diesel like Europe, this is news to us. France is planning to gradually phase out the use of diesel for passenger cars and implement a pollution ranking system for cars, prime minister Manuel Valls has said, reports Automotive News Europe.

“In France, we have long favoured the diesel engine. This was a mistake, and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically,” Valls was quoted as saying.

Next year, the government will launch a car identification system that will rank cars by the amount of pollution they emit, making it possible for local authorities to limit city access for the dirtiest cars.

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Valls said that taxation will have to lure the people towards more eco-friendly choices, and that the 2015 state budget measures will attempt to reduce the tax advantage of diesel fuel over gas.

Plus, there exist plans to widen the number of beneficiaries of a subsidy for the conversion of old diesel engines in areas with anti-pollution plans, ANE reports. Energy minister Segolene Royal announced earlier in the year that drivers scrapping diesel cars to buy an electric vehicle will be entitled to a bonus of up to 10,000 euro (RM42,700).

The TICPE excise tax (domestic duty on consumption of energy products) on diesel is set to go up by two euro cents (nine sen) a litre, drawing 807 million euro (RM3.54 billion) into state coffers in 2015.

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Jonathan James Tan

While most dream of the future, Jonathan Tan dreams of the past, although he's never been there. Fantasises much too often about cruising down Treacher Road (Jalan Sultan Ismail) in a Triumph Stag that actually works, and hopes this stint here will snap him back to present reality.

 

Comments

  • HyundaiKiaLaJunk on Dec 03, 2014 at 11:04 am

    So much for “Clean Diesel”, so it’s isn’t clean after all.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 34 Thumb down 4
    • Bobby (Member) on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:07 pm

      This stuff is never to be a clean shit, but then we like to believe what we want to believe, especially through propaganda from diesel peddlers, including the government!!

      Remember, diesel soot from the unburnt smoke of diesel from machines of any kinds, including cars and lorries etc, is 1,000 times more toxic than cig smoke. Once in the lung, it will stay there forever, and then hit your health in your late life, starting from 40s years. Stay away from diesel smoke and it does not discriminate, so everyone will get it if you inhale.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 9
      • fast5 on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:58 pm

        BN says our Malaysia still in good environment, go keep the Pollution somemore.

        RAKYAT feed Gov feed Cronies.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 19
      • That’s why the cars in europe has a diesel particle filter (DPF) to desoot the diesel exhaust. Euro6 dude.

        Malaysia can’t have the DPF because of the poor grade diesel.

        There must be something more that’s being missed out in the article that led the government of france to go anti diesel cars.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 0
  • TopsyBoXyTurvy on Dec 03, 2014 at 11:08 am

    Now it turns out that japanese car makers, for not focusing in diesel technology and products, to be right decision.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 43 Thumb down 2
  • nabei on Dec 03, 2014 at 11:15 am

    the mat salleh are the biggest liars. they canot do hybrid but lying on their so called clean diesel

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 45 Thumb down 4
  • Diesel undeniably produce less CO2 per KM compared to petrol but it does produce more of the other dirty pollutants. That is why Japan hasnt really go towards diesel. Luckily for us, we have yet to fully jump into the diesel gimmick.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 32 Thumb down 4
  • Our BN government will start telling us: “See! It is a wise decision not to introduce Euro 5 nationwide. Euro 2 is enough!”

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 51 Thumb down 8
    • So are they right or wrong?does anyone in malaysia really care about environment?few years back i saw an old bungalow along jln mahameru,converted to some ‘environment conserving/friendly organization’ full with aircond compressors on its wall.that for me is a summary of malaysian true attitude in preserving/conserving our environment

      U do, cannot.
      I do, ok laa. little bit only maa. Goverment fault our weather is so hot

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 0
  • Mozilla Chrome on Dec 03, 2014 at 11:44 am

    Meanwhile in Malaysia…you can find dirtiest 20+ years old diesel lorries running on our city road everyday, and electric/hybrid cars being taxed so much like we hate the environment.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 55 Thumb down 3
  • french embassy located at jln Ampang so every day French embassy staff c shit metro buses emits CO2 (1000…………….%) and dey tell themselves what type of raping environment is this and what type of BLOODY CORRUPTION behind that.TRULY SHAMEFUL

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 23
    • TopsyBoXyTurvy on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:01 pm

      Mozilla chrome and Kong, well said! Especially abt metro buses along jalan amoang embassy areas…BN and its cronies are shameless bunch ..and JPJ are blind.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 20
  • How much again for our hybrids?…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 0
  • 4G63T DSM on Dec 03, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    Thats certainly interesting.

    If you drive through any rural french countryside, all you smell is diesel.

    almost all rural and suburban cars run on diesel. Wondering what they will run on if they ditch diesel.

    Sure nothing has been lost in translation?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Soon, Citroen and Peoguet will dump their diesel cars to outside France!

    Will Malaysia be flood with cheap French diesel cars?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
    • Anonymous on Dec 03, 2014 at 4:00 pm

      We can’t run their diesel cars here with Euro2M diesel, anyway.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Energy Analyst on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    http://europe.autonews.com/article/20141202/ANE/141209960/renault-psa-criticize-frances-about-face-on-diesels

    Renault, PSA criticize France’s about-face on diesels

    …France’s biggest automaker, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, said the policy change will hurt its competitiveness.

    “Diesel is a key technology to reduce greenhouse gas and to fight against climate change. This tax measure will place France at a disadvantage compared with Germany,” a PSA spokeswoman…

    SA has been a leader in diesel technology.

    France has for decades encouraged car buyers to choose diesel cars through lower fuel and purchase taxes. But politicians are reversing the policy, spurred by green campaigners who complain that diesel emissions damage air quality in busy cities and cause health problems.

    PSA and Renault both said the tax increase on diesel fuel will not improve air quality.

    “The tax does not differentiate between modern and older diesel engines, and thus has no real environmental impact,” a Renault spokesman said.

    Renault said fuel tax increases planned by the government will raise the price of diesel by 4 cents, compared with an increase of 2 cents for gasoline.

    The government has yet to specify how it plans to dismantle diesel car purchase incentives.

    About 80 percent of French motorists drive diesel-powered cars.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
    • Finally some more in depth reasoning. Just to please those green extremist huh..

      The problem lies at “The tax does not differentiate between modern and older diesel engines, and thus has no real environmental impact,” a Renault spokesman said.

      JDM nutheads start saying japs are right la wat la. Jap didn’t take diesel because it is not their forte.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0
    • kadajawi (Member) on Dec 04, 2014 at 9:39 pm

      Yup. German car makers are partying now. The French government has a history of limiting their car makers and making them not competitive, while the German government has a history of aiding the own car industry with policies. This is yet another stupid move by the French government.

      Basically French car makers are great at making diesel engines, a bit meh at making petrol engines. Because the French would rather buy a diesel. Now the shift to petrol means they’d probably be better off buying a foreign car. Until they have catched up with other brands in terms of petrol.

      In the past the extreme taxes on high cc cars meant French car makers didn’t develop big engines… which meant selling the otherwise great French limousines outside of France was pretty impossible. If someone is going to spend a lot, he wants a big engine. In Germany, big, powerful engines however were important due to the Autobahn, so that was what German car makers developed. And that helped sales outside of Germany too (except for in France).

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Finally! on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    Finally someone actually spoke up!.. Ive been a strong believer that Diesel is not the way to power vehicles at a mass… It has never been really clean and Diesel engines are almost always noisy.. I believe the Japanese has every focused on reducing Sound Pollution and Air Pollution and thats one big reason why they have always focused on Hybrids, EVs and now Hydrogen Fuel Cell.. Good move by the Japs to continue to do R&Ds on other options to replace Petrol and Diesel..

    I bet Germany is going nuts now especially BMW..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 7
    • Finally! on Dec 03, 2014 at 1:29 pm

      **Japanese has always focused**

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2
    • kadajawi (Member) on Dec 04, 2014 at 9:46 pm

      Germany is happy. It will hinder the competitive advantage French car makers had for sales outside of France, as they will fall back in terms of diesel tech (Mercedes is using Renault diesel engines, and they are supposed to be better than Mercedes’ own diesel engines). Outside of France diesel engines will still be popular.

      Also, French petrol engines are, not that good, so German car makers have a better chance on the French market.

      Diesel can be clean. Noisy? Not really, I’ve recently sat in a Volvo C30 with the 1.6 TDCi sourced from Ford. Can barely hear it at idle, and when driving it’s quiet too. Had similar experiences driving a Ford Galaxy with the same engine.

      Hybrids are useless for long distance travelling, the reason why they still are a bit more efficient is mostly because they are very aerodynamic. You could do the same to a petrol or diesel car. Hybrid tech is however great for stop and go traffic. EVs too.

      A big long distance cruiser does well with a diesel engine, that’s where diesel is most efficient and clean. City cars are best served with hybrid tech.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Josh Ling on Dec 03, 2014 at 2:21 pm

    how do you wanna phase out those trucks and container lorries that are using diesel mostly? you can’t expect those trucks and lorries to be converted to electric or petrol, can you? and without those trucks and lorries roaming the streets, how are you suppose to develop your industries and businesses, not to mention satisfy personal needs (moving houses, furnitures and other big stuff)? all using tiny van like renault kangoo kah?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 9
    • Read the article properly, it’s talking about passenger cars…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • http://www.transportenvironment.org/press/new-petrol-engines-cause-more-air-pollution-dirty-diesels
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28540259
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/11018725/This-diesel-backlash-is-completely-overblown.html
    Even petrol engine face the same problem. I believe the real issue is about older diesel cars which is more polluting than euro6 ready cars.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
  • Jilbaber (Member) on Dec 03, 2014 at 3:05 pm

    Is good news la meh..then more good quality diesel one can be divert to our country…cannot sale mahal because its called ‘lambakan’ unless gov came with ‘first class’ reason..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • almighty tokong lim guan eng on Dec 03, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    even France is getting smarter by not using diesel but here in bolehland gov is increasing cost of diesel so that old lorries and busses with lots of smoke can give them more money to pay for their sports car.

    Lim guan eng had proven he can buy merc cheap without gov help. If we vote for him, we too can get cheap merc.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 14
  • fleur on Dec 03, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    What so wrong about diesel cars which uses EURO5/6 diesel. Emissions of Sulphur dioxide levels are reduced so much unlike ours. Diesel powered cars are safer to petrol ones due to one cannot simply light up a pool of diesel with a match.

    I am suspecting the Americans have something to do with this. They are producing too much oil but low demand. So doing a cartel-like business to force others to buy more oil from them. Petrol powered vehicles are more thirsty compared to diesel due to less energy content in petrol per litre compare to diesel.

    Noisy diesel engines are thing of a past for passenger vehicles these days. Even european petrol powered vehicles with direct injection will give clattering sound when idle.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 1
  • foxtrot on Dec 03, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    and you gais believe the French? LOL

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • France is ditching diesel in favor of hybrid or electric because their cars are mainly on diesel. If their cars are mainly on petrol they will do the same ie ditching petrol for hybrid/electric. It’s the issue of fossil fuel against alternative energy.
    So it is not a problem of diesel. It’s looking for better alternative. Between petrol/gasoline and diesel the french have determined that diesel was cleaner, hence their focus. Now they want to focus on something else. It’s french anyway

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • hadi75 on Dec 05, 2014 at 9:55 am

    Or this could be a move by carmakers lobbyist to increase their hybrid car sales since some car magazine has found out diesel cars are more efficient than hybrids. But who knows…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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