EXCLUSIVE – The criteria to benefit from the “100 euro electric car”

2023-11-13 19:26:39

Published on Nov 13, 2023 at 6:21 p.m.

This is one of the flagship measures of the “just” ecological transition that the government is working to defend. To support the most modest households towards sustainable mobility, namely the acquisition of an electric vehicle, the government is committed to providing, via a leasing service, a car whose cost must not exceed 100 euros per person. month. The implementation of this system has been delayed, but the final decisions are about to be formalized, particularly on the criteria for allocating vehicles.

The level of income has been recorded for several weeks already: it corresponds to the first five deciles, that is to say people whose reference tax income does not exceed 14,000 euros, according to the latest data from INSEE. The other criteria under study – depending on the territories in particular or according to the type of profession for heavy riders – have been ruled out, according to our information. “It will be first come, first served,” summarizes a member of the executive.

Complexity of implementation

Christophe Béchu’s cabinet has until now defended the territorial criterion, in particular to help households who live in low-emission zones (ZFE), where the circulation of polluting vehicles will be gradually banned. “It’s a way of saying, you have a constraint, but we have a solution to offer you,” we explained to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

But the geography of EPZs being fluctuating (cities can leave or enter the system depending on changes in air pollution levels), it was complex to associate such a system of aid. The criterion of socio-professional categories (traveling liberal nurses for example) was not retained either.

It is the principle of extreme simplicity which was therefore adopted. Likewise, if some within the executive called for a first year of simple experimentation, this scenario was also ruled out. A way of not falling further behind on a system that we were already talking about during the last presidential campaign and which the government wants to make an important axis of its environmental policy.

Insurance costs

It remains to be seen how many vehicles will actually be available when the reservation platform opens, scheduled for the end of the year. For the moment, it is only a question of “pre-registration”. On an annual basis, the executive expects a volume of 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles. But even on a volume that seems low compared to needs, it is complicated to find all the models available.

“Stellantis has made efforts but Renault is not playing the game, they want to give us first generation Zoes whose battery range does not exceed 50 kilometers,” regrets a parliamentarian. Difficult to convert low-income households to electric with this type of vehicle.

The price, all costs combined, also risks exceeding the “100 euros” which the government has made a slogan. Unpaid debts, to reassure those involved in the sector, will be covered by the State. But insurance costs, which vary greatly depending on each person’s penalties, will remain the responsibility of the driver, as well as maintenance costs. It is therefore more of a range of “100 to 150 euros” on which we must count. A differential which is not insignificant for a modest household.