What you need to know about the reduction in the ecological bonus for electric vehicles, which comes into force on Monday

The maximum aid for the purchase of an electric car increases from 7,000 to 4,000 euros for the lowest-income households, according to the decree published in the Official Journal.

The government announced it, it’s done. The decree ratifying the reduction in purchasing aid for electric cars was published on Sunday December 1 in the Official Journal and the measure will come into force on Monday. The maximum aid increases from 7,000 to 4,000 euros for the lowest-income households and will decrease according to income level.

The amount of the subsidy depends on the tax share of each household. In detail, a household which receives up to 16,300 euros per share will be able to benefit from aid of 4,000 euros. The envelope will increase to 3,000 euros up to 26,200 euros per share, then to 2,000 euros when the household earns more than 26,200 euros per share, i.e. the majority of buyers of electric cars. However, there will be a tolerance for vehicles already ordered, “provided that delivery takes place by February 2025”said the Ministry of Energy on Thursday.

The envelope dedicated to the bonus for the purchase of electric cars will be strictly limited to 690 million euros for 2025 and the subsidies could be limited during the year, the government has also specified. He “wishes to ensure strict compliance with the allocated budget envelope”in a “difficult budgetary context” and after having noted excesses in recent years, specified the office of the Ministry of Industry.

“Social leasing”, this subsidized electric car rental for low-income households, must be renewed, assured the Minister of Transport. Conversely, the decree provides for the elimination of the conversion bonus, granted when purchasing a low-polluting vehicle in exchange for an old car. The system was successful: more than a million bonuses were distributed between 2018 and 2022, particularly to households living in rural areas, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

“These significant reductions do not come at the best time”estimated Clément Molizon, general delegate of the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere-France), to franceinfo. “We know that a buyer [de véhicule électrique] out of two would have given up on their purchase in the absence of aid.”