You might have seen in the news that Parisians have voted to triple the parking fees for out of town SUV drivers as part of their mayor's anti-car campaign. SUV drivers will have to pay 18 Euros an hour instead of the current 6 Euros an hour. This applies to standard or hybrid models weighing more than 1.6 tons and electric vehicles weighing more than 2 tons. A Volvo XC40 comes into this category, at 1.61 tons, as does the electric version at just over 2 tons (VW ID3, BMW IX3, Mercedes EQA, Tesla Model S are other examples of electric cars that exceed the 2 ton limit). Further south in France, Lyon are to introduce a similar scheme without a public vote. Our much-loved-by-motorists London Mayor Khan is said to be watching this situation closely, no doubt rubbing his hands together at the thought of how much more money he can wring from motorists unfortunate enough to have to visit our capital.
So, if you have a big family, need the space that SUVs offer, enjoy the safety of a high seat driving position, need 4WD because of the place you live, use one for work, thought you were doing the right thing by buying a petrol hybrid model or have one because your health and mobility makes it so much easier to get in and out of - watch out! Before you know it you'll be ripped off (even more) for parking, ripped of for road tax and that's if you're tyres haven't been let down by a bunch of eco-loons.
XC40 (Pictured below) - nice looking car, but can you afford 18 Euros an hour to park it in Paris....or Lyon....or coming to a town near you ?
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