The government has apparently decided to open the financing floodgates for social leasing (also called “car at €100 per month”). However, the money given to some will probably be withdrawn from the amount available to others, that is to say those who can only benefit from the ecological bonus.
Despite requests for clarification, the government seems to be turning a deaf ear to the requests of stakeholders in the automobile industry. Dealers still find themselves in an unclear situation regarding the arrangements in place for electric cars, and customers also have to deal with some unknowns.
How many social leasing applications will be accepted? Until when ? How much will the 2024 bonus be? Will it be retroactive for orders placed since January 1st? We asked the ministry for clarification last week, but have not yet received a response. According to an Auto Infos article from January 29, 2024, the automobile employers’ organization Mobilians would have obtained some information on this subject from the ministry.
Social leasing available up to a stop by decree
This electric leasing system is reserved for households with a tax income of less than €15,400 and driving more than 8,000 km per year for work. While around 35,000 applications have already been submitted to obtain this device, dealers are wondering what happens next.
Initially, the government indicated that 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles would be eligible in 2024 for this exceptional government assistance. But, things could have changed given the success of this leasing offer of between €40 and €150 per month. The government seems to have opened the floodgates to finance more vehicles this year, knowing that it is providing aid of €13,000 per vehicle.
The public authorities reportedly indicated to Mobilians: “ There is no quota of 20,000 files. The publication of a decree will put an end to the system. Requests filed before this decree will be honored. » Good news for customers who still want to benefit from it. Dealers must feel like they are playing “1-2-3 sun” or “1-2-3 decree” in this case.
The more social leasing there is, the fewer bonuses there will be
You must be aware that social leasing, the ecological bonus, the retrofit bonus and the conversion bonus are part of the same budget envelope. This budget was 1.7 billion in 2023 and should only be 1.5 billion euros in 2024. More aid schemes with less budget, the account is not really good.
The decree, which should have set the amounts of the ecological bonus and the conversion bonus on January 1, had still not been published as of January 29. The government indicated at the start of the year that “ arbitrations were still under discussion » to justify the delay in publication. The much more likely hypothesis is now that the end of electric leasing will define what budgetary envelope will remain for other aid.
Let’s admit that electric leasing, which was to require 325 million euros (25,000 files at 13,000 € in aid), ultimately already finds itself at a total of 455 million spent, or more, by the end of the system . This would be a lot of budget that cannot be distributed to buyers using the ecological bonus, whether increased or not, and/or the conversion bonus.
A rumor in December reported a reduction of €1,000 in the bonus, dropping to €5,000 to €4,000 for households. It is now not excluded that the drop will be more significant. It is also possible that this bonus amount is retroactive for orders made in January.
According to the general delegate of Mobilians, Xavier Horent, quoted by Autos infos, the publication of the bonus is now expected “ around February 1st “. Which could also coincide with the final whistle of a month of “Leasing January”.
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