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Mobility Orientation Law, Climate Law, Finance Law: the 5 flagship measures for vehicle fleet managers to use

Since France reaffirmed its commitment to fighting climate change, and since the first criticisms of the government for failing to take action on the climate, the legislative calendar on energy transition has gathered pace.

Understanding and anticipating these changes can sometimes be a headache. But doing so is key to making the right decisions for your fleet and managing your TCO. From the French Mobility Orientation Law (known as the loi LOM) to the Climate and Resilience Law, this article explains the change in the legislative framework and looks at 5 key decarbonisation measures that affect fleet managers. Fleet managers have every reason to view these requirements in the light of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Climate Law, Mobility Orientation Law: why regulations will get tighter and more numerous

The goal is set for 2050: almost all new vehicles must be zero emission

In line with the Paris Agreement, the sustainable mobility strategy sets out Europe’s direction with regard to transport. A target has been set for the European Union to become climate-neutral by 2050, which means that almost all new vehicles are zero-emission vehicles, that 100 European cities are entirely decarbonised, and that all journeys of less than 500 km are carbon neutral.

France has transposed these targets into its national low-carbon strategy, implementing them by means of legislation (the most emblematic of which has been the 2019 Mobility Orientation Law and the Climate and Resilience Law adopted in May 2021), but also through vehicle taxation measures set out every year in the Finance Law. Under threat of EU sanctions if it fails to accelerate its action plan to meet European air quality targets, France has increased the number of measures, meaning more work for fleet managers.

1. Greening of fleets and quotas for low-emission vehicles (LEV)

The Mobility Orientation Law, which deals specifically with mobility policies, sets out the obligation on businesses and local authorities to increase the share of low-emission vehicles when they renew their vehicle fleets (for fleets of more than 100 vehicles). In 2021, the Climate Law replaced these measures by stepping up the ‘greening up’ targets for 2027 and 2030. When fleets are renewed, from 1 January, the share of low-emission vehicles must be as follows :

 

Companies Local and regional authorities
10% in 2022 30% from 1 July 2021
20 % in 2024
40 % in 2027 37.4% in 2026
70 % in 2030

☑ In practice: these renewal costs must be considered alongside the usage costs, which are taken into account in TCO calculations, and also alongside the new environmental bonus/penalty (see below).

2. Provision of electric charging points and carsharing

Another new feature of the Mobility Orientation Law is the requirement from 11 March 2021 for new buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation to have electric charging points. Companies that have buildings with a staff car park are directly affected. Residential and mixed-use buildings are also affected by this regulation. In terms of installation, the charging points must be able to supply at least 20% of parking spaces to keep pace with the targets for the growth in electric vehicles. These requirements will extend to existing buildings that have company car parks with more than 20 spaces from 2025, unless major work is required to adapt the electricity network.

The Mobility Orientation Law also confirms the inclusion of carsharing in the modes of commuter transport that could generate entitlement to the sustainable mobility allowance. The amount, criteria and terms of award of this allowance are governed by the company agreement and are recorded during annual negotiations.

 To follow: changes in assistance measures for charging point installation and connection to the electricity grid that could be covered (cost of works or an installation grant, tax credit, etc.)

90% of fleet managers say they are impacted by the arrival of the WLTP standard

3. The new tax rules for accelerating fleet transition in 2021

Every year the Finance Law sets out in detail the rules on vehicle taxation. The changes for 2021 reflect the national and European positions for decarbonisation.

2021 marks the completion of the switch to the new WLTP standard for light vehicles, which must be approved using this procedure before they can enter the European market.

The approval procedure measures their consumption and emissions of CO2 and atmospheric pollutants. According to the Arval Mobility Observatory barometer, 90% of fleet managers say they are affected by the arrival of the WLTP standard, which introduces a new registration system and disrupts their car policy management.

Since 1 January 2021, vehicles registered under the WLTP are subject to a new set of rates for the first component of the French company car tax (TVS). This is based on CO2 emissions values (g/km) measured according to the new WLTP cycle. The rates for the second component have not changed. It is worth noting that electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles are exempt from TVS.

The Finance Law also increases the environmental penalty for the next three years. It starts at 50 euros for 133g (compared to 138g in 2020) and is now 30,000 euros for 219g and over (compared to 20,000 euros for 213g in 2020). The environmental bonus has been increased: the amount has been reviewed (up to 5,000 euros for legal persons) and it has been extended to electric and/or hydrogen-powered trucks, buses and coaches until 1 January 2023.

☑ To follow: changes are coming in 2022, particularly concerning the rules of operation of the TVS and its exemptions, but also the CO2 penalty, to which a weight penalty will be added.

4. Extension of the transport Low-Emission Zones (ZFE-m)

ZFE-m zones, which were introduced in 2021, are being made widespread. They aim to combat air pollution in cities by banning the most polluting traffic. Each local authority sets the terms of the ban based on the Crit’Air vehicle disc, which classifies vehicles based on their pollutant emissions.

The Mobility and Climate Laws aim to accelerate the creation of these zones, which already exist in four areas (Paris, the Greater Paris area, Lyon and Grenoble), and the establishment of ZFE-m zones will be extended to 7 new cities in 2021: Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulon and Toulouse. By 2025, all cities with a population of more than 150,000 will be in the scheme, which should bring the number of ZFE-m zones to 45.

If they break the rules, drivers have to pay a penalty of 68 euros (cars and motorcycles) or up to 135 euros (HGVs, buses and coaches). Fleet managers are responsible for finding out the traffic rules affecting their vehicles based on the Crit’Air classes set by the city or cities in question.

☑ To follow: the change in restrictions based on the Crit’Air discs, which follow a timetable of gradual bans set by each city. Paris has thus committed to ban all diesel traffic by 2024 (Crit’Air 2) then to ban combustion engines by 2030. The timetables should also be subject to strict national targets. Crit’Air 3 discs and earlier should thus be banned throughout the whole country by 2025.

5. Regulations placed on vehicle manufacturers: CAFE Law and Climate Law

The CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) Law transposes the targets proposed by the European Commission on revising CO2 standards for cars and vans. It restricts to 95g/km the average rate of CO2 emitted by new private vehicles (VP) sold within Europe from 1 January 2020, making this the most stringent regulation in the world. This average is calculated in proportion to sales figures.

The CAFE law becomes the strongest regulation in the world and is supplemented in France by the Climate Law.

In France, these targets are complemented by measures in the Climate Law, which sets 1 January 2030 as the end date for sales of new private vehicles that emit more than 95 g/km according to the old NEDC cycle (or 123 g/km of CO2 under the WLTP cycle), and the end of 2040 as the end date for sales of HGVs, private vehicles and light utility vehicles that run on fossil fuels.

☑ What is the impact on your fleet? The application of these rules places further constraints on the availability of some vehicle models, which need to be taken into account along with a potential increase in the associated taxes.

6. In practice: how do we come to terms with these ‘greening up’ targets?

 The journey towards decarbonisation has clearly already begun, particularly through electric vehicles. The obligations gradually being introduced for vehicle fleets have only been reinforced by the Climate Law. This means anticipating and absorbing the extra costs of purchasing these vehicles and installing the necessary equipment (charging points for electric vehicles). To reconcile cost control with greening up requirements, several options, which can be combined with your CSR initiative, could be envisaged:

  • New mobility solutions like carsharing can significantly reduce the size of your fleet. Carsharing could also be the starting point for the inclusion of electric vehicles in your fleet.
  • To keep your TCO down, make the most of the greening of your fleet to raise your drivers’ awareness of eco-driving, which could enable you to make savings of up to 15%
  • On-board telematics can also help you to reduce the cost of the journeys made by your drivers by reporting driving data so that areas for improvement (journey, fuel, etc.) can be identified
#business mobility orientation law #climate law #electric vehicles mobility orientation law