Paris votes to triple SUV parking fees – and this includes electric ones
Parisians have voted to triple the parking costs for SUVs – including heavier electric ones and hybrids. This Sunday, the city held a referendum, with Parisians voting 56.6% in favor of increased parking fees.
While the narrow, traffic-clogged streets of Paris seem a better fit for the likes of the nimble Twingo, city officials say that the number of SUVs in the city has increased by 60% over the last four years. SUVs account for 15% of the 1.15 million private vehicles parked on Paris streets every night.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo sees the move to curb SUVs in the city as “a form of social justice,” with road safety and air pollution the main targets of the vote. She said that the vote had one particular driver in mind: rich drivers of the heaviest, most expensive, and polluting cars on the street who, essentially, need to wake up and see how their choices affect the rest of the city – with the caveat that only out-of-towners will be affected by the price hike. Still, officials say that some 10% of the vehicles parked in Paris will see increased parking fees, which could bring in up to €35 million, reports Le Monde.
“Parisians have made a clear choice… other cities will follow,” Hidalgo added. Lyon, France’s third largest city and run by the Green Party, has devised its own progressive parking fee system designed to target SUVs, with Grenoble looking on. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he too is paying attention to the Paris vote, The Guardian reports.
The new fees could come into force at the beginning of September, with on-street parking for an SUV raised to €18 (about $19) an hour in the center of Paris and €12 (about $13) in the rest of the city.
The price hikes applies to ICE or hybrid SUVs weighing more than 1.6 tonnes (about 3,500 pounds), and electric SUVs weighing more than 2 tonnes, or 4,000 pounds. Paris residents will not have to pay extra. People working in Paris, taxi drivers, tradespeople, health workers, and people with disabilities will all be exempt.
Last year, Paris held a similar referendum that voted to ban electric scooter rental services, the first and only European capital to do so. Of course, the turnout for the vote was only 103,000 people, or 7% of registered voters. The SUV referendum, which was held Sunday, February 4, garnered even fewer votes, with 78,121 people, or 5.7% of registered voters, Le Monde reports. Still, while not many people ventured out on to cast their vote, Le Parisien ran an Opionway poll this month that found 61% of city residents backed the plan to hike frees for SUVs.
The socialist mayor has put front and center a reduction in car usage while simultaneously boosting eco-friendly transport in the city. SUVs – which are taller, heavier, and deadlier and use more energy and resources than a typical sedan – account for almost half of all new passenger cars sold in Europe last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. A pedestrian is twice as likely to die in a collision with an SUV than a standard vehicle, Hidalgo stated.
She has made big moves in expanding bike lanes by reducing parking spaces. In the past few years since the coronavirus lockdowns, there has been a 71% rise in the use of bikes in the city. Of course, I wished I’d see more helmets on heads here – because even with more bike lanes, Paris traffic is intense, with bikes lane sometimes merging in and out of traffic lanes.
Regardless, Hidalgo is hoping automakers will get the message, that there is no place for huge, bulky, polluting SUVs in a city like Paris. “With this vote, we want to say stop,” she has said. “Stop the excesses of carmakers, who are pushing people to buy ever bigger, more expensive, more raw-material-intensive, more polluting vehicles.”
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The cheapest and smallest Volvo EV is off to a hot start. After only five months on the market, the Volvo EX30 topped BMW’s Mini in Europe’s small premium segment as sales continued surging.
Volvo EX30 passes Mini in EU sales
Since EX30 production began in Zhangjiakoui, China, last fall, Volvo’s compact EV is already a top seller.
Despite its small size, the Volvo EX30 is having a significant impact. According to global data collection firm Dataforce, Volvo’s sales rose 27% last month in Europe. With over 32,800 models sold, Volvo propelled to number 14, up from 17 last year.
The EX30 accounted for the majority of the growth. Volvo’s EX30 topped the small premium segment, surpassing BMW’s Mini by 1,029 in sales.
Volvo’s EX30 is the third-best-selling EV in Europe through May, with 30,195 models sold. The Tesla Model Y took the top spot with over 79,100. Tesla’s Model 3 was second with 38,863 units sold, up 38% YOY.
The growth comes after the EU revealed plans for additional tariffs on EVs made in China last week. Volvo’s deputy CEO, Bjorn Annwall, criticized the decision, saying it would only hurt the buyer.
Starting at around 36,000 euros ($38,500), Volvo’s EX30 is one of the most affordable EVs on the market.
Although Volvo had already planned to begin EX30 production in the EU in 2025, Annwall hinted the US-bound model would likely come from Belgium.
Volvo plans to introduce the EX30 in over 90 countries by the end of the year. In the US, the EX30 starts at $34,950. It’s available in two powertrains, a single-motor extended range, and a twin-motor performance, offering up to 275 miles of range.
As you would expect from Volvo, the EX30 has the latest safety and connectivity tech. It includes Google built-in with Apple CarPlay as standard.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo EX30 sales surging in Europe is no surprise as demand for affordable EVs continues climbing. Most automakers are planning or have already launched low-cost EVs.
Kia opened orders for its EV3 in Korea, starting at $30,700 (KRW 42.08 million). Next year, Kia is expected to launch the EV4, an entry-level electric sedan, starting at around $35,000 (see a video of it captured in the wild).
Volkswagen finished design work on its ID.2all, a $27,000 (25,000) euro electric car. The production ID.2all is expected to debut later this year, with sales kicking off in 2025.
Hyundai, Ford, GM, BMW, Nissan, and others have all revealed plans to launch more affordable EVs over the next few years.
Volvo’s early commitment to go all-electric is already paying off as the EX30 takes market share.
Source: Automotive News
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The Italian luxury sports car maker is preparing to launch its first EV. Ferrari’s new e-building opened its doors on Friday with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance. The new plant, entirely powered by renewable energy, is set to launch the first Ferrari EV sports car.
Ferrari’s first fully electric sports car will be built at the new e-building. CEO Benedetto Vigna said the new factory will “light up” Ferrari’s future.
The e-building will enable Ferrari to continue to “audaciously redefine the limits of what’s possible.” Ferrari’s first EV sports car will be built at the facility alongside its next-gen hybrids and ICE vehicles. The facility will also produce batteries, electric motors, and inverters for Ferrari’s EV.
Ferrari has invested roughly $214 million (200 million euros) to make the facility a reality. After opening the doors Friday, Ferrari said the plant will help improve efficiency and flexibility.
The building will be entirely powered by renewable energy. Over 3,000 solar panels on the roof produce 1.3 MW of energy. Ferrari said that by reusing rainwater and energy in the production cycle, 60% of the energy used for battery and motor testing would be recovered and redirected.
Ferrari’s new e-building opens with first EV coming soon
The new inauguration comes after sources told Reuters this week that Ferrari’s first EV sports car will cost at least $535,000 (500,000 euros).
According to the sources, Ferrari is already developing its second electric vehicle. It’s still in its early stages but will be built at the new e-building.
Ferrari launched its first plug-in hybrid last year, the SF90 Stradale, as it electrifies the brand. By 2026, Ferrari aims for EVs and PHEVs to account for 60% of sales.
The first fully electric Ferrari is expected to be revealed by the end of the year. Check back soon for more info.
Meanwhile, luxury rival Lamborghini revealed its first electric car, the Lanzador EV, last August (check out Lamborghini’s first EV here). Lamborghini is expected to launch the Lanzador in 2028.
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Environment
Spy photos hint at Xiaomi’s quick encore to the SU7 EV to compete against the Tesla Model Y
It’s only been six months since Xiaomi Automobile launched its first-ever BEV – the SU7. Following early success, Xiaomi has been developing a second model, and spy images from local media outlets in China have given us a (camouflaged) glimpse at the EV’s exterior design.
Xiaomi Automobile is the EV-centric arm of one of China’s largest smartphone and electronics manufacturers, founded three years ago. After following much of its surprisingly quick and encouraging process in BEV development, Xiaomi launched its flagship SU7 EV in December of 2023, garnering an impressive number of orders from Chinese consumers loyal to the parent brand.
The infant EV model received over 50,000 orders in the first 27 minutes of going on sale, creating a waitlist of up to seven months. This incited Xiaomi Automobile to restructure its production strategy to manufacture and deliver more SU7s than initially planned to keep up with growing demand.
After just 32 days of production, Xiaomi celebrated its 10,000th SU7 build. By May 2024, we reported the young automaker was already developing a second all-electric model to compete against the globally popular Tesla Model Y.
Most recently, local media outlets in China have captured spy photos of what appears to be Xiaomi’s new EV – a sleek SUV coupe.
Spy images show a sleek new Xiaomi coupe SUV EV
Local media outlet Xchuxing posted the spy images seen above, which appear to be the public’s first glimpse at Xiaomi’s next EV. The report also states the new model is a coupe SUV with a design similar to the Ferrari Purosangue and is expected to be released sometime in 2025.
These details align with our previous reports on Xiaomi’s second EV, which is expected to continue competing against Porsche and, in this instance, Tesla.
As you can see from the spy images, the covered Xiaomi EV has a LiDAR sensor on its roof, expected to be the same as its SU7 sibling, to enable the automaker’s NOA (Navigate on Pilot) ADAS.
The rear is larger than the SU7 sedan but appears to feature the same tail light design, further hinting that these spy images are, in fact, Xiaomi’s next EV. We will know more once the Chinese automaker publicly confirms the new model, hopefully alongside some non-camouflaged images.
However, from what we’ve seen so far, it looks sharp. We hope to learn more soon and report back.
Credit for all images: xchuxing.com
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