Peugeot urges France to revive incentives for hybrids
PSA Group is pressing the French government to revive sales incentives on rechargeable hybrid vehicles as it rolls out plugin versions of its larger models to meet tightening European emissions rules, the carmaker said.
Automakers are rushing to deploy electric cars and hybrids, which combine battery power with a combustion engine, to meet EU carbon dioxide limits and avoid hefty fines.
“We’re asking for the reinstatement of incentives on plugin hybrid vehicles,” said Laurent Fabre, a governmental affairs executive for the maker of Peugeot, Citroen and Opel vehicles.
While PSA is well placed among carmakers to meet the goals, its pure-electric programme will cover only the smallest cars - leaving its brands reliant on significant sales of rechargeable hybrids across the rest of their line-ups, from compacts such as the Peugeot 308 to the DS7 Crossback premium SUV.
The collapse of fuel-efficient diesel sales has stiffened the challenge across the industry, causing CO2 emissions to begin rising again after years of improvement. While diesels produce more toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates than gasoline engines, their efficiency has been instrumental in cutting greenhouse gases.
France, by far PSA’s biggest market, currently offers a 6,000 euro ($7,000) subsidy on each electric car sold, but an earlier 1,000-euro plug-in hybrid incentive was scrapped last year.
Financial support for lowemissions vehicle sales will be reviewed under draft 2019 budget proposals to be presented to ministers on Sept 24. (RTRS)