French consumers’ interest in electric vehicles is still growing. As the European Union sets targets to decarbonize its transport sector, including a petrol and diesel car production ban in 2035, member states are working to increase the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles within their borders. In France, these efforts have led to a fleet of 596,300 cars with the Crit’Air E sticker in 2023, meaning they are zero-emission vehicles. This increase in the French electric car parc is boosted by rising electric vehicle sales. While internal combustion vehicles still held the largest share of the market, battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles represented over a quarter of the French passenger car sales that year. This foothold was higher than the European Union’s share of plug-in electric vehicles among new sales, which suggests a stronger EV adoption in France than in other neighboring countries such as Germany, Spain, and Italy.
