Many French people will no longer benefit from a 5,000 euro discount on an electric vehicle in 2024.
Electricity has further gained ground in the French automobile market. Around one in six new registrations (16.8%) concerned a green energy vehicle last year. This is better than the European average (14%) and the trend should continue as the various manufacturers, French and foreign, have taken the turn towards electric, pushed as they are by the European directive to prohibit the sale thermal cars from 2035. To encourage motorists to buy less polluting cars, in 2008 the French government introduced an ecological bonus, state aid to reduce the cost of the vehicle upon purchase.
This ecological bonus has continued to evolve since then, and this is still the case in 2024. Unfortunately for the French, it is now less advantageous than it was last year. Many households will no longer be able to benefit from a reduction of 5,000 euros on the purchase of a new electric car. And yes, while the number of sales of cars with batteries increases, state subsidies will undoubtedly decrease. Thus, 50% of the richest households (deciles 6 to 10), will have to pay more money to get their hands on an electric vehicle.
For them, the bonus will not disappear. But it will decrease, going from 5,000 to 4,000 euros. This is a loss of 1,000 euros for those who had made the decision to go electric in 2024. This could perhaps discourage some from investing in a cleaner (but more expensive) vehicle and abandoning their petrol or diesel (or even hybrid) model. For the 50% of French people with more modest incomes, grouped in the first five deciles, the ecological bonus does not change. They will still be able to benefit from a discount of 5,000 euros to which must be added an increase of 2,000 euros, for a total of 7,000 euros to be deducted from the price of a new electric vehicle.
The criteria for the ecological bonus have also evolved in 2024. They have tightened by taking into account the environmental impact in a much more global way, in particular by measuring the carbon footprint of the production of metals used in manufacturing and that of the transport used. to transport vehicles to their points of sale. This gave rise to an environmental score to be achieved to remain eligible for the ecological bonus. The ultimate objective is to favor vehicles designed in France and Europe rather than in Asia, and particularly in China.
