At €65,000, the Alpine A390 qualifies for the CEE Premium, but why?
This page is translated from the original post "À 65 000 €, l’Alpine A390 éligible à la Prime CEE, mais pourquoi ?" in French.
- 31/08/2025 19:55
What a strange discovery it is that the Alpine A390 appears in the list of electric cars with an environmental score eligible for the CEE Bonus.
The government website that lists “the versions of electric passenger cars that have reached the minimum environmental score qualifying for certain purchase or rental assistance for low-polluting vehicles” was updated on August 28, 2025.
New entries are visible: Citroën ë-C3 Aircross (new battery), Nissan Micra (two batteries), Opel Frontera, and Peugeot E-5008 (all-wheel drive and large battery) along with the restyled Peugeot 308. And finally, a real surprise: the Alpine A390 in its 400-horsepower propulsion variant.
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So how is it possible that a car – in this case, the Alpine A390 – with a starting price of 65,000 euros including taxes, can benefit from the CEE Bonus of a minimum amount of 3,100 euros when the cap is normally set at 47,000 euros?
In reality, since July 1, 2025, and the elimination of the Ecological Bonus, the rules for purchasing an electric vehicle in France have changed. A new assistance program has taken its place, but with new conditions: the CEE Bonus. And this program holds a significant surprise: even a high-end electric sports car like the Alpine A390 can benefit from it.
Unlike the ecological bonus, which is capped and conditioned by the vehicle’s price, the bonus from the Energy Savings Certificates (CEE) operates on a completely independent mechanism. Funded by energy companies (EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies, etc.), it rewards individuals who choose a new electric vehicle, provided it is leased for at least 24 months. The amount is set nationally: €3,180 for a standard household, and up to €4,240 for a low-income or energy-impoverished household.
A bonus for the rich?
Concretely, this means that an Alpine A390 priced well above €65,000 can benefit from this assistance, provided it is obtained through a LOA or LLD lease. A cash purchase will be excluded! The bonus does not apply as a separate check: it is directly deducted from the reference price used to calculate the lease payments. In other words, the customer pays less for their monthly payment, even though the sports car from Dieppe is far above the thresholds that made access to the ecological bonus impossible.
This subtlety illustrates the paradox of the system. On one hand, the state eliminates an aid deemed too costly and poorly targeted; on the other, a private mechanism, mandated for energy companies, continues to favor electrification, regardless of price. The result: it is the wealthiest households that benefit from this CEE Bonus, at a time when the economic health of the country is catastrophic.
Underlying this situation is a political question: should a uniform bonus be maintained for everyone, regardless of the vehicle’s price, or should this aid be redirected towards the most accessible models?
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