THE long-term future of diesel cars is bleak following reports that France plans to phase out diesel cars used as private transport.
In a move that piles even more pressure on the motors blamed for poor city air quality throughout Europe, French prime minister Manuel Valls said they will also put in place a system to identify the most polluting vehicles.
According to reports by the Reuters news agency, next year, the government will launch a car identification system ranking vehicles by the amount of pollution they emit. Armed with these league tables, local authorities will be able to identify and limit city access for the dirtiest cars.

Phasing out diesel cars will hit French motorists particularly hard because about 80% of private cars are diesel powered.
In a speech Valls said: “In France, we have long favoured the diesel engine. This was a mistake and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically.”

This move makes plans by mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to slap a £12.50 daily tax on diesels seem conservative in the extreme. Naturally, UK transport and ecology experts will be monitoring how the plan works across the Channel prompting fears that the use of diesel cars here will also be under threat.

Valls said taxation would be used to persuade motorists towards more ecological choices, including the 2015 state budget measures to reduce the tax advantage of diesel fuel against petrol.

The government has announced it will raise the so-called TICPE excise tax on diesel by €0.2 (15p) per litre, bringing in €807M (£641M) extra tax revenues next year.

On the plus side, energy minister Segolene Royal announced earlier this year that drivers scrapping diesel-powered cars to buy an electric one would be entitled to a bonus of up to €10,000 euros (£7,948).