French CO2 Tariffs Set to Skyrocket U.S. Pickup Prices above $100,000

The United States’ deep attachment to full-sized pickups would face a significant challenge as prices surge above $100,000 due to France’s suggested CO2 emissions tariffs in the American new vehicle market.

If France applies its CO2 tariffs in the American market, the base price of the Ford F-Series, the best-selling vehicle in America, would skyrocket from $37,000 to $100,106. Similarly, the Chevrolet Silverado and the RAM 1500, the second and third best-selling vehicles, would see their prices rise from $37,445 to $100,551 and from $39,990 to $103,006, respectively.

Last year, these top three vehicles combined for a total of 1.63 million sales in America.

Moreover, this peak tariff of $63,106 would impact nine other vehicles in the top 20 rankings in the U.S., including the GMC Sierra, the Toyota Tacoma, the Chevrolet Equinox, the Toyota Highlander, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Ford Explorer, the Jeep Wrangler, and the Hyundai Tucson.

The new sliding-scale tariffs, which may be implemented in the French new car market next year, would cause a doubling and even tripling of prices for many high-end cars and SUVs in France. The sliding scale ranges from just €50 to a maximum of €60,000 ($63,106).

To breach the maximum tariff rate, a vehicle must achieve around 23mpg (or emit 194 grams of CO2 per kilometer). Consequently, seven out of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. last year would be subject to this maximum tariff.

Cars, SUVs, and trucks must achieve a fuel-consumption figure of 46.7mpg in order to avoid the impact of the sliding scale tariffs, which begin in France at 117 grams/km.

Despite the dominance of SUVs and trucks in the top 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S., even Toyota’s Camry would be subject to the maximum tariff. This would raise the purchase price of its base (non-hybrid) model from $29,000 to an astonishing $92,106.

The only vehicles among the top 20 sellers in the U.S. that would not be affected by the French tariffs are the Tesla Model Y (9th) and the Tesla Model 3 (15th).

These two electric cars, which rank as the most and second most expensive vehicles in the top 20, would become the fourth and fifth most affordable options, just behind the Toyota Corolla, the Nissan Rogue, and the Honda Accord.

The average CO2 emissions of the French new-car fleet is 108.6 grams/km, according to the peak ACEA car industry body, falling below the 117 gram/km threshold for CO2 tariffs.

Nevertheless, many regular French commuter cars would be affected by the proposed tariff, with some modest vehicles experiencing a 50% price jump. This move aligns with France’s ambition to become the first developed country to completely move away from fossil fuels.

The 2024 tariffs will apply to every vehicle among France’s top 10 best-selling cars from last year, all of which were either French-made or French-owned, although some of them have electric vehicle variants.

While the French car market mainly consists of small B-segment cars and compact SUVs, this is not the case in North America, where large trucks and SUVs reign supreme.

For instance, even the humble Toyota Corolla, the 12th most popular new car in the U.S. last year, would be subject to an additional cost of $3,119 due to emitting 155 grams/km of CO2.

The objective behind France’s proposed 2024 tariffs is to encourage French drivers to reduce transport emissions by utilizing the country’s clean electricity grid through the use of electric cars, which are offered by French automakers Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault, instead of combustion-powered vehicles.