The French government has announced a second season of its social leasing scheme for EVs. An envelope of €370 million is destined for subsidising the rental of at least 50,000 EVs for three years or more.
Social leasing of (smaller) EVs has been a significant success in France last year. Even overwhelmingly so, because 50,000 demands for rental subsidies were recorded between 1 January 2024 and 15 February 2024. It compelled the government to stop the initiative then, in fear of an exploding budget.
And what about cost-cutting?
The new subsidies were announced immediately after the French government deployed a new plan of cost-cutting measures. But the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, and the Minister of Energy, Marc Ferracci, found an elegant solution to the problem.
The new initiative will be supported by certificates for economizing energy (Certificats d’Economie d’Energie or CEE), which must be financed by the energy distributors, primarily EDF (Electricité de France), TotalEnergies, and Engie. Public finances will thus not be affected in this case.
Starting the 30th of September
The first demand for subsidies can be made starting on September 30th. The applicants will need to demonstrate that their fiscal reference income is lower than €15,400, that they are actively employed, and that they require the vehicle to commute to work or to perform their duties effectively.
Apart from that, one-tenth, or 5,000, vehicles of the total batch will have to be reserved for the local low-emission zones (ZFE in French) spread throughout the country. The leasing price must be lower than €140 per month, and the maximum subsidy per vehicle cannot exceed €7,000.
