The ecological bonus for the purchase of an electric vehicle will increase from 5,000 to 4,000 euros for half of the wealthiest French households, and the scrappage bonus will only be awarded in exchange for the purchase of an electric vehicle, according to a decree published Tuesday February 13 in the Official Journal. “The objective is to continue to socially rebalance the bonus,” declared the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, on Franceinfo.
The decree, which will come into force on Wednesday and concerns “aid for the acquisition and rental of low-polluting vehicles”, underlines that “it reduces by 1,000 euros the maximum amount of the ecological bonus applicable to the acquisition of cars private cars and new vans for households in the five highest income deciles”.
The bonus of 7,000 euros for the purchase of an electric car (5,000 euros and the increase already in force of 2,000 euros) is therefore now reserved for people whose reference tax income per share is less than or equal to 15 400 euros.
The decree also limits the allocation of the scrappage bonus to the purchase of electric vehicles. And the maximum amount of this conversion bonus, already reserved for the least well-off households, drops by 1,000 euros to stand at 5,000 euros. Until now, the bonus could also benefit the purchase of a low-polluting gasoline vehicle (with the Crit’Air 1 badge), for an amount of 4,000 euros.
The text also removes the ecological bonus applicable to the acquisition of new passenger cars for legal entities and reduces by 1,000 euros the maximum amount of the ecological bonus applicable to the acquisition of new vans for legal entities. It removes the ecological bonus of 1,000 euros for used passenger cars and vans, but increases the amount of electric car leasing aid for used passenger cars by 1,000 euros.
In 2023, a quarter of aid allocated to low-income households
To benefit from the ecological bonus, the chosen car must cost a maximum of 47,000 euros. Since the end of 2023, the bonus has also taken into account environmental criteria, which de facto exclude models manufactured in China, such as the Tesla Model 3 or cars from the MG and BYD brands.
“Last year, out of 1.5 billion aid packages, a quarter went to the most modest. Certainly, we are cutting back a little on aid for the wealthiest, but the average price of electric cars is decreasing,” underlined Christophe Béchu. The decree published Tuesday also ratifies “the suspension of the assistance system for the leasing of electric cars”. The Elysée announced on Monday the end of this measure for 2024 after having “exceeded” its initial objectives, with more than 50,000 orders validated, compared to 20,000 to 25,000 expected.
“There will be a second wave at the end of the year or early next year. New models will be released at the end of the year. We also want to give ourselves a little time to think about what worked,” said Mr. Béchu.
The decree published on Tuesday also prohibits the subletting of vehicles benefiting from leasing assistance, and establishes a fine of 1,500 euros in the event of non-compliance by the beneficiaries with the conditions of conservation of the vehicle or the ban on sublease.
