Lhe Council of European Ministers of the Environment adopted, on June 28, after the European Parliament, the revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/631 establishing CO standards2 of a car manufacturer’s fleet of new vehicles. These emissions must be reduced by 100% in 2035 compared to the 2021 objectives for the entire fleet, which means the end of the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by this date.
It is likely that, well before this date, it will no longer be possible to drive in large cities without an electric motor. The car fleet, but also the motorcycle fleet, will experience a profound revolution in the next ten years. The benefits are known for the environment and the acoustic comfort of local residents.
In terms of employment, change is accompanied by destruction and creation, which is characteristic of the laws of the economy. There remains the social divide. If this European decision arouses such reservations, it is because, for many, the end of the thermal engine car means the end of the individual car. The symbol of the “glorious thirty” would vanish into an ecological consumerism reserved for the urban dominant classes.
It is true that the market for cars with electric motors, in full expansion, is, on the surface, still unstable and subject to many unknowns. The thermal engine car market, on the contrary, is a market whose main factors are known, even if it may be subject to external constraints.
The overall cost of a vehicle corresponds to the sum of its purchase price, the price of its maintenance (regular and spare parts), the price of fuel, the price of insurance and, where applicable, the price parking, all divided by the number of kilometers travelled. The overall cost of a vehicle comes down, in fact, to the cost of the kilometer traveled throughout the lifetime of the vehicle (and not to the longevity of the vehicle).
This overall cost is shared between the various successive purchasers of the vehicle. For each of these buyers, the charge will differ according to the number of kilometers traveled and the evolution of the various factors. It is all of this data that makes it possible to create a viable second-hand market and, ultimately, to put the cost of buying a new vehicle into perspective.
Secondary market
But this data is much less transparent for vehicles with electric motors. To date, the manufacturers emphasize the autonomy of the vehicle, if necessary, its speed, but limit their guarantee on the battery to eight years or 160,000 kilometers.
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