If there are still many gray areas, the contours of the project are emerging. Le Figaro point.
Driving electric for the sum of 100 euros per month: Macron’s campaign promise should soon become a reality. During the presentation of her roadmap for the first 100 days on April 23, Élisabeth Borne followed in the footsteps of the president, saying she wanted “facilitate everyone’s access to clean vehicles, develop the necessary infrastructure and support the conversion of the French automotive industry». But then how? The idea is to set up a social leasing at a reduced rate to help French people with precarious status or who are highly dependent on four wheels by offering them to rent electric vehicles, the majority of which would be produced in France. However, we do not know the precise workings of this device as well as the conditions to be met in order to benefit from it. Le Figaro draw the outlines of this project.
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Who might be eligible for this scheme?
Several socio-professional criteria should be taken into account to designate the beneficiaries of social leasing. First is household income. In effect, “the most financially constrained households are the furthest from electric vehiclesaccording to a study conducted by the NGO Transport and Environment (T&E) jointly with the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). The system could therefore possibly be staggered in proportion to tax revenues. In its report, Transport and Environment suggests priority aid for workers earning less than 13,500 euros per year. Similarly, households whose dependence on automobiles is increased, i.e. thosewithout alternatives for access to essential services and for professional activity(T&E) should be privileged, in the same way as the essential liberal professions, such as doctors, for example. Invited this Thursday on France Info, the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune announced that “around 100,000 peoplewould be affected by this electric leasing.
When will orders be possible?
The device will be officially launched in the fall of 2023 and the first orders can be made in early 2024, via an online platform. “The goal is to make it very simple“, ures the minister. The households concerned by the device will, according to him, have fewer costs to pay when the device is launched, compared to the sometimes off-putting standards of current leasing.
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What vehicles will be available, and at what price?
Made in France electric cars should logically be in the spotlight: Renault Zoé and Twingo, Peugeot e-208 for city cars or the Citroën Ami for those without a license. Clément Molizon, general delegate of the national ociation for the development of electric mobility (Avere), adds that “Citroën will also develop a model in Spain next year“, which would allow “to move in the direction of integrating European manufacturing» and to overcome competition from models produced in China like the Dacia Spring, the only model currently available for leasing for 100 euros per month. The Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, speaks of “a few thousand vehiclesin circulation from next year. Despite all these objectives, the conclusion is as follows: renting an electric city car currently costs around 150 euros per month in France.
Will the project really see the light of day?
In its calculations, the NGO Transport and Environment estimates that with the reindustrialization effort as well as the purchase aid that the State should provide, social leasing should cost “between 116 and 192 euros per month“for a segment A car (Renault Twingo type), “between 128 and 160 euros per monthfor a segment B car (Peugeot 208 type), and between238 and 275 euros per monthfor a C-segment car (Renault Mégane type). The bar of 100 euros therefore seems to be an Eldorado difficult to reach. However, as Clément Molizon reminds us, the question of the price of electric cars is “a question of economies of scale, in the sense that we do not yet sell enough models to be able to bring prices down“. Ultimately, the more electric vehicles there are on lease, the more prices are likely to fall. It remains to be seen whether this system, which combines social vocation, environmental imperative and ambition to reindustrialize the country, is realistic.