Reduced bonus, stable penalty (for a while) and uncertainties. The motion of censure adopted this Wednesday against the Barnier government also has consequences for the automobile sector. The end of budget debates and the probable adoption of a special law, which should guarantee the continuity of state finances from January 1, will have a direct impact on the taxation of the purchase of a new car, in particular in the famous sanction.
A shame that won’t harden
The latter was going to be reinforced by the 2025 Finance Bill (PLF), since the text currently has every possibility of being abandoned, the sanction will continue to be subject to the 2024 scale, confirms the Ministry of Economy. Therefore, the penalty will always be applied as soon as a vehicle emits 118 grams of CO2 per kilometer, and not from 113 grams, as provided for in the PLF 2025.
The difference for the buyer is not negligible. In the Dacia Sandero, for example, the best-selling non-hybrid gasoline vehicle in France, CO2 emissions are between 120 (Sce 65 base trim) and 129 grams of CO2 per kilometer (TCe 90 CVT in high trim). Although the fine should have been between 210 and 450 euros in 2025, it will remain at a half level, between 100 and 280 euros.
This sanction also maintains a maximum limit of 60,000 euros, compared to 70,000 euros in the initial project. The weight penalty will always be applied when the vehicle weighs 1.6 tons, and not one and a half tons as planned in the 2025 PLF.
This abandonment of the PLF 2025 also entails for the moment the postponement of a possible penalty for used vehicles that have never been subject to it. This “new sanction” would come into force on January 1 for imported vehicles and would be extended in 2026 to all used vehicles.
The new bonus now in force
However, the counterpart of the sanction, the bonus, will be reduced. In fact, this reduction was adopted by regulation, in a decree published this Sunday, December 1, which applies from Monday. Thus, the 2025 bonus has decreased from 7,000 to 4,000 euros at most, with a decreasing amount depending on income, until reaching a minimum amount of 2,000 euros. “It’s positive, because the bonus is sacred,” the professional union Mobilians tells us.
This decree also ratified the elimination of bonuses for two-wheeled vehicles or cars without a license. In addition to the conversion bonus, which Bercy confirmed to us once again.
This possibility of going through the regulatory route (decree or order) offers the possibility of resolving certain pending issues, such as maintaining a possible bonus for electric vans. The financing must go through Energy Savings Certificates (CEE) and were currently being discussed with the authorities. “The government was willing to implement it, but who?” asks a sector spokesperson.
What about the reform of benefits in kind?
Another thornier issue on which the fall of the Barnier government could have important repercussions: the reform of benefits in kind. This change in regulations establishes that as of January 1, 2025, the cost of company vehicles for employees must increase. Or that charging an electric vehicle at the workplace would no longer be free.
However, the details are not yet known, which worries those who benefit from a company car and their human resources managers. “What decisions will be made about this very technical issue?” professionals worry. The latter fear not having an answer before the end of the year or a decree during the end of the year holidays.
The quick appointment of a new government is expected, which could possibly resolve the regulatory situation. Then it will be necessary to form a stable majority in the National Assembly to be able to approve a new finance bill. But what time horizon? An uncertainty that worries both buyers and professionals.
Source: BFM TV
