Paris, France - France’s environment minister has declared the country’s “feebate” bonus system to encourage car buyers to make “greener” purchase choices a success. Encouraged by early indications from the system, Jean-Louis Borloo has called for a similar bonus to be applied to other types of products, including televisions, computers, tires and some electrical products.

According to official figures, there has been a 45 per cent increase in sales of vehicles producing less than 130 g/km CO2 in the eight months since the scheme was introduced. In that time, the average CO2 emissions from new cars sold has fallen by 9 per cent. However, between the announcement of the upcoming scheme and its introduction, the country noted a surge in purchases of 4×4 vehicles.

The highest bonus for buying a low-carbon car is €5,000, while the highest extra tax for a car emitting higher levels of CO2 is €2,600. The overall cost to the country’s budget is reported to be around €140 million, because of a greater-than-expected impact of the scheme.