France is drafting a plan to subsidize electric-car leasing, so users pay only around $100 per month. This is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s April campaign pledge to lower the cost of electric vehicles, according to Car and Driver.
To resolve criticism that electric vehicles are still unaffordable for many people even with subsidies, Macron pledged a state-sponsored leasing program for low-income households.
Gabriel Attal, the budget minister for the Macron administration, announced on Sunday on the French television network LCI, stating that the plan will make full-electric vehicles available for 100 euros ($100) a month. He further noted that the cost is less than what many people spend on gasoline.
“We know that for many French [EVs] remain very expensive,” he said, adding that the administration was already attempting to determine how early it could put the plan into effect.
Currently, the French government provides subsidies of up to 6,000 euros for EVs costing less than 47,000 euros. In addition, a federal trade-in program is also available for outdated combustion-engine vehicles.
It is worth noting that despite those incentives, EVs only accounted for 12% of new car sales in France in the first seven months of 2022.
