Less than €200 per month and no initial deposit required. For the third year in a row, 50,000 low-income households should have access to an electric vehicle through “social leasing”. The operation was launched this Thursday, July 16. Support for electric mobility provided by the government with a total envelope of 401 million euros financed by energy saving certificates, which involve energy suppliers.
Concretely, the system consists of compensation by the State for the first rent (similar to an initial contribution) of €6,500, compared to €7,000 last year. However, in order to promote European production, aid can reach €9,500 for cars, batteries and engines manufactured within the European Union.
But which households is this long-term rental offer aimed at? Those whose reference tax income per share does not exceed €16,880 per year and who are considered “high rollers” are eligible. This category includes French people who use their personal car for professional purposes and travel more than 8,000 kilometers per year for this purpose or who work more than 10 kilometers from their home.
Beneficiaries of social leasing operations in 2024 or 2025 will not be able to benefit from the system this year. Furthermore, only people of legal age and domiciled in France will be eligible for this offer.
Up to 15,000 kilometers per year
As for vehicles, twenty models from a dozen brands are eligible – including the French Citroën, Renault, Peugeot but also Kia – for monthly payments of less than €200 per month, or even less than €140 per month. However, the contract does not include insurance, maintenance or any options, and covers a mileage of 15,000 kilometers per year at no additional cost – instead of 12,000 in past years. Another major advantage compared to thermal: €3 of electricity is enough on average to travel 100 km – compared to between €5 and €10 for a gasoline vehicle, depending on its size and the evolution of the price of fuel.
As part of this system, car manufacturers put forward offers over three years, with or without a purchase option at the end of the contract. Some manufacturers offer contracts lasting 4 to 5 years. In the event of a purchase after the social leasing period, the beneficiary will only owe the residual value of the vehicle to the manufacturer. In the event that he chooses not to purchase the vehicle or if his contract does not provide a purchase option, the beneficiary must return it.
By encouraging the replacement of old thermal vehicles with new locally assembled electric models, the government hopes to accelerate the decarbonization of transport. At the start of 2016, electric cars accounted for almost one in five vehicles sold in the EU.
