France is to end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, the government announced on Thursday.
The move is part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, new Ecology Minister, Nicolas Hulot, said.
He acknowledged that the target would be “tough” to reach, particularly for automakers.
It comes as Swedish car giant, Volvo, known for its chunky diesel estate cars, announced it was going electric and that no model brought in after next year would rely solely on internal combustion engines.
Volvo’s cars will instead be fully electric or hybrid – combining electric and conventional engines – in what the RAC Foundation suggested could be “the spark which turns modern motors electric”,
Recent figures showed a 15 percent drop in UK sales of diesels following dire warnings about air pollution deaths and costly levies.
The data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders also revealed a surge in sales of electric and hybrid models.
Volvo, which is owned by China’s Geely, said it would launch five electric cars by 2021, but will continue to produce current models with petrol or diesel engines after the 2019 cut-off.
Animated image of a Volvo electric car 