The French government will suspend until the end of the year a program to subsidize low-income consumers who want to buy an electric car on lease, as demand far exceeds initial plans.
The program provides low-cost leasing with monthly installments of 100-150 EUR per electric car for people with an annual income of up to 15,400 EUR. It was introduced at the beginning of this year. The government originally planned to launch the program earlier, but it was pushed back to early this year because French automakers did not have enough eligible vehicles.
The authorities have budgeted a total of 1.5 billion EUR for 20,000 electric vehicle leases under the program this year, but after strong demand, Paris announced it was raising the ceiling to 50,000 contracts.
The government is also offering buyers cash incentives of between 5,000 EUR and 7,000 EUR for a total package value of 1 billion EUR per year.
To be eligible for both programs, vehicles must meet limits on how much carbon is generated in their production and in their delivery, a measure designed to ensure that cheap vehicles made in China do not qualify.
The list of models eligible for the incentives includes 24 Stellantis vehicles and five Renault vehicles. Tesla’s Model Y electric SUV also is included in the list, but not the Model 3 sedan.
