The French government is suspending a subsidized EV leasing program because it’s been flooded with applicants who are eager for cheap EVs. The public lease program offers EVs starting at €100 per month, or $107 at current exchange rates. The program exceeded demand by more than double the amount of expected applicants. It must now be paused to let French automakers catch up and build the many EVs needed to satisfy demand, according to Reuters.
The program launched in December of 2023 ahead of the new year, when EVs made in France and the rest of Europe would be readily available. The program is supposed to help low-income families switch to EVs affordably, but French officials were not expecting such overwhelming demand. They had to double the number of available EVs from 25,000 to 50,000. By January, over 90,000 people had applied, prompting the government to pause the program, per the Guardian:
Originally, 25,000 European-built electric cars were to be offered to lease from €100 (£85) a month, but this was doubled after massive demand. The government said it had received more than 90,000 applications by the end of January.
“It’s a real success story and symbolic of French environmental policy. It is good for the wallet and good for the planet,” an adviser to President Emmanuel Macron said.
Motorists who balked at the cost of buying an electric car – which are typically more expensive than a petrol or diesel vehicle – were offered a means-tested leasing scheme at a cost of €100-€150 a month for a vehicle worth €47,000 or under.
The French government had originally set aside €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) for the program, but had to double its investment, as Reuters reports. Lease applicants must meet a number of requirements to be eligible for the cheap EVs, including being over the age of 18, residing in France and living at least 15 kilometers, or 9 miles, away from their place of work. They must drive over 8,000 kilometers per year, or just under 5,000 miles, as part of their “professional activity,” and a household’s taxable income can’t exceed €15,400, or about $16,500 at current exchange rates, per person.
The lease program is on a three-year contract and can be renewed once, with the option to buy out the lease. The government is also offering cash incentives from €5,000 to €7,000 ($5,400-$7,500,) and both programs can be stacked for greater savings. But EVs must meet strict requirements to be eligible for both offers, chief among these being country of origin: cars must be made in France or elsewhere in Europe. They can’t be made in China, which points to the program’s goal of giving French and European carmakers a chance against cheap Chinese EVs.
As of now, eligible models include 24 EVs made by Stellantis, five by Renault and one from Tesla, the model Y, according to Reuters. The government will subsidize any of these models for a total of up to €13,000, or close to $14,000 at current exchange rates.
France’s Energy Minister, Roland Lescure, says the lease program has become a victim of its own success, and he’s urging French automakers to ramp up EV production so the program can be reopened and possibly expanded ahead of 2025, when it’s scheduled to resume. Who knew that people would actually buy EVs? All it took was making them cheap enough.
