The government has made it clear to Chinese brands that they will be deprived of the €5,000 ecological bonus. What is the point of submitting a request with a complicated file to put together knowing that the result will be negative? MG decided to do without it.
MG quickly made itself known in France thanks to a particularly aggressive pricing policy on its electric cars. With 4 models positioned below €47,000, MG was able to benefit from the ecological bonus of €5,000 to develop quickly and strongly. Enough for the brand to exceed its sales objectives for 2 years. The other side of the coin is that this success has not really been to the taste of the French government, and certainly also of certain competitors who see customers abandoning their models to switch to Chinese cars. The rules of the game have therefore been changed for the 2024 ecological bonus so that it only benefits vehicles produced in Europe.
Faced with this government decision, MG considered using a so-called “derogatory” procedure to defend its access to the bonus. Except that through an interview published on Autoactu this November 24, we learned from the director of sales and the MG network, Julien Robert, that the brand has not yet done anything in this direction. On the contrary, MG is preparing to do without the bonus.
No file filed for MG, and it is not the only one
“ We have not submitted a file to benefit from it and I do not think we will » indicated Julien Robert to Autoactu. The first models benefiting from the 2024 ecological bonus, without MG, will be announced on December 15, then this list will be updated regularly. To appear in this first announcement in December, the brand would have had to have already submitted a file to Ademe (Environment and Energy Management Agency), because the organization then takes several weeks to to carry out the tedious calculation of the environmental score, on which eligibility for the bonus now depends.
Finally, even having submitted a file on time, it was very unlikely that MG would be able to keep the bonus because of its Chinese production. MG has therefore, for the time being, refrained from this tedious task.
MG is not the only Chinese brand not to have submitted its application, BYD has confirmed to us that it has not yet submitted its application, due to not having obtained all the necessary documents from China. BYD is not really more optimistic than MG about being able to obtain the 2024 ecological bonus for its models, including through the derogation procedure which must refine the calculations.
Data too confidential to obtain nothing in the end
On the MG side, another element puts off the Chinese manufacturer a little: “ The data that we are asked for is too confidential and the result is known in advance since we produce in China “. It must be said that to request eligibility for the bonus, brands must send precise data on the materials, and their weight, used in their electric cars. More details are to be communicated as part of the “exempt” request, which will be necessary for all brands that produce outside of Europe in carbon-neutral factories.
In theory, only Ademe should have access to the data submitted as part of this bonus request. Except that it cannot be ruled out that leaks could give access to this information to competitors. This could be annoying for some manufacturers who like to keep the recipes for their success secret. We can imagine that on Tesla’s side, the same questions arise.
MG assures that it can do without the €5,000 bonus
MG has done very well by launching its MG4 in 2022 from €29,990, because competing models are generally positioned €10,000 more expensive. This is also the case for other models in the range, even if they are not as popular with the public. So even if the manufacturer loses the bonus, it remains one step ahead of the competition in relation to the prices charged, particularly for its entry-level models.
Models exceeding 40,000 euros are those which will suffer the most from this change. In these cases, European competition could more easily compensate for their delay thanks to €5,000 from the government. But again, MG is not overly worried. The company expects a drop in sales, but it will also be able to offer discounts to maintain its competitiveness, if it were to falter. She has the means.
With or without an ecological bonus of €5,000, the MG brand has certainly not finished making waves in France. On the other hand, if you want to benefit from the bonus to buy an MG electric car, you have until December 15 to place an order.
The 2024 bonus could well play spoilsport on the French market. To ensure you don’t miss anything on this topic, subscribing to our weekly Watt Else newsletter is highly recommended. It’s a good way to keep a close eye on electric car news.
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