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In the fog." The 2024 study by the Cetelem Observatory, published on Tuesday, shows that French motorists, but not only, are unfamiliar with regulations and the future of the automobile. For example, while the EU approved last March the end of the sale of combustion engine cars from 2035, only one in two French people (53%) is aware of the existence of this future ban. This is a relatively low proportion, but it is still higher than abroad. On average, in the 16 countries of the world studied (Austria, Belgium, China, Germany, Spain, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Turkey), 49% say they are aware of such regulations.
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European countries, where manufacturers' lobbying has been intense to counter these regulations, concentrate the largest number of motorists who are aware of these measures," says the Cetelem Observatory. The French remain less well informed than the Germans (66%), the British (62%) or the Spanish (62%).
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Same vagueness on EPZs
Similarly, in low-emission zones (LEZs), urban areas where access is limited to the least polluting vehicles, the level of information also remains fragmented. While 77% of French people know about it, only 48% know exactly what it is. France, however, remains at the top of the world ranking. The Cetelem Observatory notes that "most European countries, particularly those where EPZs are effective, stand out for having the largest number of motorists who are precisely aware of their existence. This is particularly the case for Germany, Belgium, Italy and France, with scores of 50% or almost <>%."
In France, 11 cities have so far set up a low-emission zone, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Strasbourg. But only six out of ten French people (59%) know that these EPZs are indeed present in France. "It is in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and also in France that we identify the highest scores, nations that have set up EPZs or are considering their deployment," says the Observatory.
In addition to this "fog", as the study calls it, there is the "doubt cast on the electric car" by the increase in electricity prices following the war in Ukraine, the director of the Observatory, Flavien Neuvy, told AFP. "People are wondering if it's really a good idea," he says, while the switch to electric is necessary to limit global warming. Thus, as summarized by the Cetelem Observatory, this study "shows in any case that motorists are in a state of expectation in many respects, to the point of showing suspicion and scepticism" about the electric car.