After a record year for sales of electric cars in France, a certain vagueness reigns around the 2024 ecological bonus. The application decree that sets the new scale has not yet been published in the Official Gazette, although the Ministry of Economy has it confirmed this Wednesday, January 3. in the newspaper The echoes that its amount will be reduced from 5,000 to 4,000 euros.
But since when? “The decree will be published in the coming days”, Bercy tells us this Thursday, January 4, without giving a precise date. Expecting, “As long as there is no amending decree, the current rules on bonus amounts and conversion bonuses remain in force.”Bercy adds. Therefore, the bonus remains at 5,000 euros for the moment, until the decree is published.
An important clarification because since December 15, and with the entry into force of new, more restrictive rules to qualify for the bonus, vagueness reigns both in dealerships and among future buyers of an electric car.
A modified bonus from December 15
Flashback, 3 weeks ago. In fact, shortly before the beginning of the new year, the government had decided to modify the conditions of access to the main purchase aid to purchase a new electric car. Aid that, therefore, plays an essential role in accelerating sales of these models, which are more expensive than their thermal equivalents.
This important change took place on December 15 with the implementation of the “environmental score” and a list of 56 eligible models. If until now the bonus could be applied to all electric cars that cost less than 47,000 euros, now the vehicle must also be manufactured in Europe to benefit from it. At Tesla, the Model Y, assembled primarily in Berlin, retained it, while the Model 3, made in Shanghai, China, lost it.
The end of this bonus for all electric cars therefore caused a certain avalanche in the models produced in China and which were going to lose it. Like the Dacia Spring, for example, which remains the cheapest new model on the market in France and has been out of catalog since December 15, or the MG4, also very well located in terms of quality-price ratio. In the last month of 2023, electric car registrations represented 21% of sales, compared to 16.8% for the entire year.
Online configurators a little lost
The main question behind this change: what bonus applies to models that remain eligible? Contacted, a Peugeot car dealer explained to us that he was still practicing – since December 15 and even after January 1 – the bonus of 5,000 euros, since the decree setting the new amount had not yet been published.
However, in the lion brand configurator, extra point: if you want to order a Peugeot e-208, the list price applies, 33,550 euros, with a “discounted price Peugeot Store” at 32,550 euros. A reduction of 1,000 euros is already that, but far from a bonus of 5,000 or even 4,000 euros… A note also specifies that the ecological bonus is “not deducted”referring to a text that refers to the “ecological bonus 2023”. Bonus that, therefore, would continue to apply from January 1, 2024, in the absence of the famous decree.
Another scenario, in Tesla, until now an ecological bonus of 4,000 euros was applied to the eligible Model Y, which currently starts at 45,990 euros. Enough to confirm that the new amount is indeed applied from December 15… except that it was actually a mistake and that it is indeed the bonus of 5,000 euros that is applied to the bonus order: good news for those who have ordered a model. And in the last few weeks.
For its part, Renault continues to show the mention ” Eco bonus 2023 of 5,000 euros discounted” in all its electric models.
Another surprising example: at Kia, the Niro, which lost the bonus because the SUV is produced in South Korea, currently benefits from a “electric bonus of 4,000 euros”, or the amount of the future bonus. On the other hand, from its sister brand, Hyundai, the Kona, manufactured in the Czech Republic, is eligible… but no longer displays a bonus at the end of an online configuration.
As many reviews as there are manufacturers. However, according to professionals in the sector, the ecological bonus of 5,000 euros would continue to apply pending the decree, as Bercy confirmed to us. For the latter, it seems unlikely that the amount of the new bonus of 4,000 euros will be applied retroactively. The process is generally carried out by the manufacturer, who advances the bonus to the customer and recovers it later. If you purchased an a priori eligible vehicle between December 15 and the publication of the famous decree “in the days to come”it is advisable to send a file from the ministry’s specific website.
A lock by… the 3 electric wheels
The service-public.fr page dedicated to the ecological bonus is “currently being updated” since January 1, simply stating that “Certain rules relating to the ecological bonus, the reconversion bonus, the electrical modernization bonus and aid for leasing electric cars are modified from January 1, 2024.”.
The button “read the information anyway” Consult the information on the 2023 bonus and therefore the 5,000 euro bonus for households with a reference tax income greater than 14,089 euros.
But why has this decree, which is generally published at the end of the year to announce the aid acquisition framework for the following year, been so delayed?
The decree “It is being finalized. There is still a fairly technical debate about whether or not 3-wheeled scooters should benefit from this ecological bonus.”The Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, explained this Thursday to France Inter.
The minister also assured that this text “it will come out very quickly”this Friday or next week.
A delay in the start-up that did not prevent the launch of another highly anticipated measure, social leasing at 100 euros per month. And rightly so, the amount of the bonus for less fortunate households that is linked to this new system should not be reduced to 7,000 euros in 2023.
Source: BFM TV
