France halts subsidised EV lease programme after strong demand

EV Lease: The Government of French Republic on February 12 said it was halting a programme to subsidise low earners leasing an electric car, after demand far exceeded initial plans for the rest of 2024. 

Under the programme, people on less than €5,400 of annual income have since the start of 2024 been able to lease an electric vehicle (EV) for €100 - €150 per month.

EV Lease programme 

The government launched the programme to boost demand for electric cars among people who otherwise could not afford them.

It was originally intended to go live earlier, but was pushed back to the start of this year because French carmakers were not ready with enough eligible vehicles.

The government had budgeted €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) to offer 20,000 leases under the programme this year, but after huge demand it informed that it was upping that to 50,000 this year before resuming it again next year.

The centre is also offering car buyers a cash incentive of between €5,000 and €7,000 to get more electric vehicles on the road, at a total cost of €1 billion per year.

To be eligible for both programmes, vehicles have to meet limits on how much carbon was produced in their manufacturing and shipping, a measure designed to ensure cheap Chinese-made vehicles do not qualify.

The list of eligible models includes 24 produced by Franco-Italian group Stellantis, five by French carmaker Renault, and Tesla's Model Y.

Dacia, Renault's low-cost Renault, saw its Spring model imported from China excluded from the list.