Emmanuel Macron announces a revision of the ecological bonus for the purchase of an electric car. The amount granted will be higher, but this increase will only target low-income households.
There will be news in France for the ecological bonus for the purchase of an electric car. On the sidelines of the opening of the Paris Motor Show, an unmissable event for the automobile market where many new electrical products will be presented, the President of the Republic intends to strengthen this system for households. the most modest “.
The Head of State, in an interview granted to Les Échos on October 16, indicates that the ecological bonus, which is currently a maximum of 6,000 euros, will be increased to 7,000 euros in the relatively near future. However, not everyone will have access to this increase. It targets the most popular households, according to criteria that have not yet been specified.
Electric cars are generally expensive to buy, more than their thermal counterparts of an equivalent model. However, we know that one of the keys to limiting greenhouse gas emissions is to restrict in one way or another the circulation of thermal cars. Except that the changeover for humble households is difficult because of the price of cars.
This may explain the adjustment of the ecological bonus, with an extra boost for these households. The only uncertainty: the conditions for accessing it are not specified. It is simply stated that the device will be based on income. The trigger thresholds will be entered later. The fact remains that this boost remains modest.
According to Emmanuel Macron, the rise of the electric car in France is real despite everything. Taking as a reference the beginning of his first five-year term, he declares ” that in 2017, electric represented only 1% of sales, today it is 13%, and we will reach 30% at the end of the five-year period — a way of contesting the criticisms leveled at it for its climate inaction.
An increase which is in fact a return to a previous situation
Paradoxically, the upcoming transition of the bonus from 6,000 to 7,000 euros brings the system back to the previous situation. Since July 1, 2021, this has returned to 6,000 euros, instead of 7,000 previously. It was then to increase to 5,000 euros on June 30, 2022, but this deadline has been postponed to at least January 1, 2023. A step back which is also more excluding.
The ecological bonus is indeed accessible to individuals, regardless of income. The new threshold of 7,000 euros is promised for low-income households, whereas it was aimed at everyone before. If we can see this reframing as a desire to better target aid, it can also be considered as a setback in terms of ecological transition.
The ecological bonus scale in 2022 is as follows:
| Electric car price | Bonus amount |
|---|---|
| Up to €47,000 | €6,000 maximum (or 27% of the price) |
| Between €47,000 and €60,000 | €2,000 |
| Electric vans or hydrogen-powered vehicles over €60,000 | €2,000 |
| Plug-in hybrid vehicle (CO₂ rate between 21 and 50 g/km) from €50,000 maximum and range > 50 km | €1,000 |
