After introducing an environmental score, thus limiting access to the ecological bonus for several international automobile brands, the French government is not stopping there. Continuing this momentum, the French government plans to further reduce financial aid, posing new challenges for the electric automobile industry. Here are the new amounts of the ecological bonus for 2024.
Article updated with information on the bonus for used electric cars
The ecological bonus in France, government aid to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles, will see a significant reduction on January 1, 2024. This aid should increase from 5,000 to 4,000 euros for new vehicles below 47,000 euros including tax according to The echoes. The media The world doesn’t even use a conditional, as if the information was certain.
Despite maintaining a bonus 7,000 euros for low-income households (whose income is below the sixth decile, i.e. people who are part of the 50% of the population with the lowest income), this reduction is not without consequences. Especially since we thought that its amount would be increased, to 8,000 euros.
The 1,000 euro bonus intended for used electric cars should itself be deleted.
Initially introduced to accelerate the adoption of less polluting vehicles, the ecological bonus was recently adjusted following the introduction of an environmental score excluding many international manufacturers. The list of eligible cars has been published, we find almost only vehicles built in Europe.
The dynamism of electric car sales in question
If French manufacturers can welcome potentially less competition, the impact of such changes will be significant on electric car sales. Specialists, including AAA Data, predict a drop in sales.
The introduction of the environmental score and the reduction of the ecological bonus could encourage manufacturers to review their commercial policies to remain competitive.
The aggressiveness of the offers, innovations in electric vehicle technology, as well as pricing strategies will therefore be decisive in the ability of brands to attract consumers despite the reduction in aid and its change in eligibility. Note also the massive arrival of cheaper electric vehicles, including the Renault R5 E-Tech, the Citroën ë-C3, the Volkswagen ID2.All or even the future Tesla for less than 25,000 euros.
In short, the electric car sector finds itself at a crossroads, between economic imperatives and ecological objectives, with an increasingly restrictive government incentive framework. However, the 2035 meeting has not (yet) changed.