2023-10-24 13:56:25
Bruno Le Maire confirmed the implementation of social leasing at 100 euros per month excluding insurance with the opening of pre-reservations in November. A system which will focus on the bottom 50% of French people and on models like the Fiat 500e and Renault Twingo e-tech.
Confirmed launch for social leasing of an electric car at 100 euros per month. Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promise in 2022, the system will be offered from November, announced Bruno Le Maire, during the French automobile industry day, Tuesday at the Carrousel du Louvre. A day which should prepare for the signing of the next sector contract between the State and the various players in this strategic sector with important stakes.
Raise your head, already, with French vehicle production which has fallen sharply in recent years, from more than 2 million units annually to just under 1.4 million in 2022. And accelerate the transition to electric, with the aim of banning the sale of new thermal cars from 2035.
On the supply side: the ramp-up of production in France should make it possible to return to such volumes, with a target of two million electric cars produced in the territory by 2030, and an intermediate target of 800,000 units for 2027.
Details on social leasing
Problem however, the electric car remains 50% more expensive than a thermal equivalent today. If the sector’s investments, and in particular the creation of a battery production ecosystem in Europe, must contribute to lowering costs, Bruno Le Maire confirmed the strengthening of purchasing aid for next year, with a budget which will increase from 1.3 billion euros in 2023 to 1.5 billion per year.
On the program, the maintenance of ecological bonuses and conversion bonuses, even if these two purchasing aids will now be conditional on the “environmental score” or, in short, on vehicles produced in Europe. Concretely, among the best-selling models, the Dacia Spring, Tesla Model 3 and MG4, produced in China, would no longer be eligible for these main subsidies.
“The French taxpayer is not intended to finance electric vehicles which have carbon emissions in their production which are not satisfactory and which are not the lowest possible”, summarized Bruno Le Maire.
A criterion which will also apply to models compatible with social leasing at 100 euros per month excluding insurance, for which “the first requests can be made on a website from this month of November for first deliveries in early 2024”.
“I am thinking for example of the Citroën ë-C3, the Fiat 500e or the Twingo e-tech, there can obviously be other vehicles,” continued the Minister of the Economy, recalling that this device will be intended for the 50% the most modest households (i.e. an annual income of less than 20,850 euros), without an initial contribution: with “a first rent entirely payable by the State”.
The eligible customer will also have the choice between subscribing or not to a purchase option, to acquire the vehicle at the end of the rental period.
What are the differences with current 100 euro rents?
If we take the models cited by Bruno Le Maire, two are already on the market with rents close to 100 euros per month currently. The Fiat 500e, at 99 euros per month over 37 months and 30,000 km, with a first rent of 9,500 euros, reduced to 2,500 euros following deduction of the ecological bonus (to 7,000 euros for modest incomes). The State would therefore cover these 2,500 euros of the first rent, a sum which can currently be covered by the conversion bonus, but subject to being able to scrap an old petrol vehicle (first registration before 2006) or diesel ( before 2011).
For the Renault Twingo, the most affordable offer currently is 102 euros per month, also for 30,000 km over 37 months and a first rent at 8,500 euros which can be covered by the aid already mentioned.
Finally, the future Citroën ë-C3 which has just been presented is offered from 99 euros per month, over 36 months and 30,000 km. A rent which also affects the release of the increased bonus and the conversion bonus.
To summarize, social leasing would therefore allow households who do not have old vehicles to scrap to benefit from these advantageous rents under certain conditions.
A marginal effect on the electric transition
But will such a device really allow the poorest to go electric? Not so certain, with few eligible models and strict conditions to respect to benefit from it.
“We had to keep this electoral promise, but the effects should remain limited,” confirms Flavien Neuvy, director of the Cetelem Observatory of the automobile market.
He recalls that between the presidential campaign and today, the situation has become particularly tense with high inflation which has not spared automobiles and in particular electric cars. The fact of excluding cars produced in China remains a good point, according to him, even if it also tends to make the budgetary equation more complex to respect, especially in a context where the State seeks to reduce its expenditure.
Last point: the ability to recharge the vehicle. While there is also aid, this may remain a significant sticking point for many households when switching to electric.
As a preamble to this day, Luc Chatel, president of the PFA, had rightly alerted Bruno Le Maire to this complementary need to maintain aid for all and not to concentrate it too much on more modest households.
“Beware of false good ideas, with deciles 9 and 10 (the wealthiest households, editor’s note) which currently represent 55% of electric car buyers,” the representative of the automobile industry in France gave as an example.
For his part, Frank Marotte, CEO of Toyota France, called this Tuesday morning on BFM Business for aid to support the second-hand market, in particular on hybrid models from the Japanese brand which already make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions. .
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