the essential
Aid for the purchase of a vehicle will change profoundly on 1 January. Objective: for the ecological bonus to take into account the carbon footprint of the entire production cycle, which could benefit French and European manufacturers more than Chinese manufacturers or the American Tesla.
To amplify the shift in the car fleet to electric cars that do not emit CO2, state aid is essential. But how to protect French and European manufacturers at the same time against fierce Asian and American competition in terms of purchase price?
A “real ecological bonus”
It is to answer this puzzle that the ecological bonus will be thoroughly reviewed on 1er next January. The confirmation was made Monday on RTL by the Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire. The bonus “will be awarded to vehicles that emit the least CO2. It will be a real ecological bonus, ”assured the minister.
“Today it is distributed to all electric vehicles, regardless of the production conditions of these vehicles. However, there are vehicles that are produced in Europe, but also in other countries where there are not the same environmental standards. It is economically unfair and inefficient for the climate. We are going to restore all that, ”added Bruno Le Maire. This revision of the bonus is the realization of the wish expressed last May by Emmanuel Macron to “take into account the carbon footprint” of the production of electric cars and thus further favor vehicles manufactured in Europe.
Current aid
DDM – Philippe Rioux
It is because the electric car market is booming in France where the share of electric represented 17% in June (plus 9% for rechargeable hybrids), whereas it was only 13% a year before. And among the sales there are many Asian models (Hyundai, Kia…), Chinese, and American with Tesla. Financing these models with public aid obviously makes manufacturers on the Old Continent cough.
A score out of 100 for the entire production cycle
The overhaul of the bonus should make it possible to better emphasize the carbon footprint of the entire production cycle of a car (materials used, manufacturing, transport, delivery). According to Les Échos, the new system will be based on an environmental score calculated according to several criteria. A score of at least 60 points out of 100 will be required for end customers to benefit from the ecological bonus. Special case: city cars with less than 5 seats and less than 180 km of autonomy will benefit from preferential treatment. If a model obtains less than 60 points, a derogation may however be granted provided that the manufacturer is able to justify that its score does not reflect reality.
The technical details and calculation methods of the new bonus will be known in the autumn and will be the subject of consultation. For the time being, it is difficult to say what impact this new bonus will have on the market. Some manufacturers could relocate their production to Europe or seek to set up factories there.
The future bonus could also impact some of the most popular electric car models in France, such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, partly produced in China, in Shanghai. But the new rules could also hurt the Spring of Dacia, a subsidiary of Renault, produced in China. This small city car displays the record price of 15,800 € (bonus deducted) which allowed it to climb on the 3e step of the podium. What will happen after the reform?
Stellantis and Renault seem ready in any case: the first must release no less than 12 electric cars by 2025, the second will produce the new Renault 5, the Scenic and the electric R4 in France.
