€100/Month Electric Cars in France Next Week
France is getting serious about climate action, equity, and EU-supportive economics all at once with a new electric car leasing program that launches next week. The company is already at 30% plugin vehicle market share, and 20% full battery electric vehicle (BEV) market share. But the government is working to accelerate that while also helping more low-income residents go electric. Starting next week, there will be a €100/month electric car leasing program (“scheme” as they say) in the country for certain eligible cars.
There’s an extra special element to this offer, as hinted above. A car has to be produced in the EU to be eligible. No China-made cars, no US-made cars. Approximately 8% of the EU’s new plugin vehicles were produced in China in 2022, and that figure was expected to grow without interventions like these.
“We want this scheme to give people access to electric cars made in Europe,” French President Emmanual Macron said. Excluded cars in this new program include cheap electric cars from MG, Dacia, and Fiat — traditionally European brands are now producing electric cars in China.
It’s not exactly clear yet which cars will be included in the program. It’s also not clear what the economic requirements for eligibility will be. That will be unveiled next week.
“EVs eligible under the new plan will also need to comply with France’s revisited ‘green bonus’ rules, which provide cash incentives to first-time EV buyers if overall car production emissions remain under a certain threshold – in an effort to make Chinese cars less financially attractive,” edie writes.
The fascinating thing, and a matter to think about in many regards, is that EVs sold in China have seen their prices decrease dramatically in recent years at the same time that EVs sold in Europe have had their prices increased. “According to the consultancy Ptolemus Consulting Group, Chinese EV prices in China dropped by around 50% between 2015 and 2022, from €67,000 to €32,000. European EV prices, on the other hand, went up 17% in the same period, from just under €49,000 to over €55,000, putting them out of reach of many ordinary Europeans.” The EU needs to get its EV act together, and it looks like this move from France is one way it can do so.
Featured photo: Renault Twingo Electric. Image courtesy of Renault Group.
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