The French government is setting aside more than €1.3 billion ($1.43 billion) for EV incentives, in a bid to bring down the price of battery-electric vehicles – by nearly 40 percent in some cases, while also lowering CO2 emissions.
Buyers could be eligible to receive up to €12,000 ($13,211) in subsidies, making this plan the most generous of its type in the European Union. For example, purchasing a Renault Zoe (€32,000 / $35,230) could cost you as little as €20,000 ($22,000).
“This is a historic plan to confront a historic situation,” said French president Emmanuel Macron while outlining the incentives part of an €8 billion rescue plan for the country’s auto industry.
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Meanwhile, owners of older diesel-powered vehicles could receive bonuses of €5,000 ($5,500) for scrapping them, with €7,000 ($7,700) going toward buying a new electric vehicle, reports Autonews Europe. France is now the first major European country to announce coronavirus stimulus incentives, with Germany soon to follow in June.
Macron also outlined an ambitious target of one million EVs produced annually in France by 2025, with Renault and the PSA Group having already pledged to increase production. The latter will make a fully electric version of its next-gen Peugeot 3008, while Renault will build two new EVs by 2022.
While releasing the plan, the French government also gave out a number of specific examples meant to show that environmentally-friendly vehicles are within the reach of working-class families.
For one, if you buy a Zoe using €12,000 ($13,211) as a bonus, you would be left with €200 ($220) monthly payments after a €10,000 ($11,000) down payment. Additionally, you would save €400 ($440) a year on fuel, while removing one ton of CO2 and 5.5 kg (12.1 lbs) of NOx from the air.
Starting in June and until the end of the year, the “conversion prime” for buyers who turn in an older car will hit €5,000 for the purchase of an EV or plug-in hybrid (with at least 50 km of battery-only range), and €3,000 for an internal combustion car.
Another example given by the government singled out a used 2016 Toyota Yaris hybrid, costing €9,400 ($10,350). With a €3,000 ($3,300) trade-in bonus for a 2003 gasoline powered small car, that Yaris could be purchased for just €6,400 ($7,000), and would go on to reduce fuel costs by €450 ($495) per year.