Swindlers use fake e-buses to cash-in on France’s eco bonus

Between November 2022 and January 2023, about 600 e-buses were registered in France eligible for an ecological bonus. However, more than half of those buses did not exist: fraudsters used loopholes in the state registration system to scam subsidies for hundreds of fake e-buses.

According to Le Monde, up to 10 million euros in public subsidies are said to have been embezzled.

Rip-off

By the end of 2022, the purchase of e-buses in France had dramatically increased, from an average of 50 per month to 300 in January 2023. However, Le Monde writes that this remarkable boom is the result of massive fraud.

By creating hundreds of fictitious buses, fraudsters cleverly exploited shortcomings in the French public vehicle registration system to divert subsidies intended for electrifying the heavy vehicle fleet.

Indeed, as part of the France Relance plan, the French government released 100 million euros to encourage the greening of transport. A company that purchased an e-truck or e-bus could count on an ecological bonus of up to 30,000 euros per vehicle for buses. From January 1, 2023, the electric commercial vehicle subsidy was limited to M2 class minibusses.

According to Le Monde, a sum well under 10 million euros was embezzled in this way. However, the amount could have risen to 12 million euros if state authorities had not detected the scam quickly.

Three bus models

The large-scale registration fraud, on some days involving up to 45 fictitious e-buses being registered, involved three bus models: Karsan eJest, BlueBus 6m, and Heuliez GX 337 Elec.

To obtain the subsidies, applicants had to fill out a special form and send it to the Service and Payments Agency (ASP) by e-mail, accompanied, among other things, by the registration certificate of the vehicle purchased, a copy of the invoice and dated order form, and the bank details.

The application had to be made within six months from the date of invoicing of the vehicle or payment of the first rental in case of rental.

According to figures from tribes.org, 504 fictitious e-buses, 201 units in 2022 and 303 in 2023, were registered in the names of more than 120 different owners. Geographically, almost half of the fraud cases are said to be in the Île-de-France region, predominantly in Paris and the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis.

Often, these are shadowy companies with a short existence or those whose activities have since been suspended by the French commercial court.