Electrify Paris

Improvement of Paris electric vehicles policy

The aim of the project is to improve Paris electric vehicles policy by suggesting improvements. Indeed the use of electric cars in Paris is low compared to some other cities in the world, whereas the city suffers from important pollution problems and that electric cars could be a good way to resolve them. The work is split in 3 parts, the description of the French and Parisian context, the study of 3 case studies in the world where electric cars are widely used to inspire policies improvements, and recommendations to improve current policies in Paris.

What are the main issues linked to electric cars adoption ?

(according to studies and case studies results)

According to a study carried out by Sia Partners, there is a strong correlation between the presence and density of public charging stations and the success of electric vehicles in either a city or a country. To go further, according to a survey led on French population, 28% of people are prevented from buying an electric cars because of the scarcity of electric infrastructures. The presence of numerous public charging points spread on the territory is thus extremely important.

An obstacle to electric cars massive adoption is their higher price (45% of French people would feel that the cost of EV is an inconvenient). Even though in the medium term their average price is likely to become competitive, in the short term until 2020-2025 their price is likely to remain more expensive, alongside their running costs, in comparison to other vehicles. This represents an important barrier for consumers, who might be more myopic or constrained by their financial availabilities. That’s why it’s important to set up financial policies to support these costs.

What are the brakes in Paris ?

A too weak number of charging infrastructures in Paris and its suburbs compared to case studies

Existing charging infrastructures too expensive to use and not adapted to the work context (people have to pay a high price from the second hour of charging points use which force them to move their car after one hour and to find another parking area)

No serious advantages offered to park electric cars compared to oil cars

Financial incentives are already consequent in France, but there are none on the long-term.