Complete success of the second edition of the “social leasing” of electric vehicles for low-income families: it has 41,500 beneficiaries a month after its launch and the system is still open to the planned 50,000 vehicles, the Ministry of Transport reported on Wednesday. The first edition of this rent-to-own through state support, launched in early 2024, ended six weeks later, with more than 50,000 validated orders, while initially between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles were planned. Given its success and the sums that had to be paid, Bercy had prematurely suspended the system.
This time, the system, which began on September 30, was planned from the beginning to finance 50,000 electric cars, of which 5,000 were reserved for people living or working in low-emission zones (ZFE). Of the “more than 41,500 vehicles” rented to date, “more than 11,360” have been rented by beneficiaries who live or work in these areas, indicates the Ministry of Transportation.
An endowment of 370 million euros
The offers offered within the framework of this social lease “are well below market prices, from 100 euros to 200 euros per month, and some of them cannot exceed 140 euros per month,” he recalls. The ministry reminds “that no additional option, accessory or service can be imposed” on the potential customer. Once the threshold of 50,000 files is reached, “a waiting list will be created to allow distributors to register orders” and “this list will evolve depending on withdrawals or invalid files,” the ministry specifies.
In total, the system has a budget of about 370 million euros which, like the ecological bonus, is financed through energy savings certificates (EEC), according to the “polluter pays” principle, aimed at energy suppliers. Specifically, any applicant, of legal age and domiciled in France, must have a reference tax income of less than or equal to 16,300 euros per share (it was 15,400 euros in 2024) and go to work by car more than 15 kilometers from home or travel more than 8,000 kilometers per year with their personal car as part of their professional activity.
Source: BFM TV
