After months of procrastination over the terms of social leasing at 100 euros, a campaign promise from Emmanuel Macron to democratize the purchase of an electric vehicle, the president presses the button. From Friday, people interested in this measure will be able to check on the specially created mon-leasing-electrique.gouv.fr platform whether or not they are eligible for the long-term rental of a battery-powered vehicle, new or used, which would cost around 100 euros per month excluding car insurance. To benefit from it, the criteria are selective: declare less than 15,400 euros of annual income per tax share, be a “heavy rider” that is to say travel more than 8,000 kilometers per year or live at least 15 kilometers from his workplace.
After this first step, eligible candidates will be able to choose and reserve a vehicle from January on the site of one of the rental companies approved by the State to offer social leasing. Rents will vary depending on the model. Some for less than 100 euros. Others for more than 100 euros. But in all cases, buyers will not have to pay the first monthly payment, generally several thousand euros. The availability of vehicles will vary greatly since the cars targeted by the government must be produced in France or in Europe and have a low carbon footprint.
This is also the reason why the system was slow to be put in place. Indeed, electric vehicles made in Europe are not that numerous. In the list: the Twingo ZE, but also the Megane E-tech from Renault. For its part, Stellantis will offer eight electric models from Citroën (the ëc3), Fiat, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot including the e-208, some of which will be available from January 2024, promises the manufacturer.
But the number of buyers will be very limited in 2024, the government, which will subsidize leasing to the tune of 13,000 euros per vehicle, will not select more than 20,000 to 25,000 files. It should be double next year.
