After Censorship, Automotive Chaos Over Penalties and Bonuses
- Published on 05/12/2024 16:27
- Modified on 23/09/2025 15:23
A government falls, and in an instant, the entire automotive sector finds itself in a dense fog.
The most difficult aspect regarding the future of the automotive sector following the Barnier government’s censorship is accepting that we ultimately don’t know much… But let’s attempt to decode the only confirmed facts.
The 2025 bonus has already been in effect since this week, reduced through regulatory means. Since December 2nd, it is now a maximum of 4,000 euros, down from 7,000 euros previously for the most modest households, and can drop to 2,000 euros for the wealthiest. It remains to be seen where the “wealthy” threshold will be set. Additionally, bonuses for two-wheelers and driverless cars are eliminated, as well as the conversion premium. All of this is set in stone, so there is no objective reason to reverse it. The only unknown is the trigger threshold for the bonus currently set at 47,000 euros. A Tesla Model Y or a Peugeot E-3008 can already be considered premium vehicles, and is it truly the role of the ecological bonus to assist those who can afford them?
An ongoing decree could also introduce a bonus for electric utility vehicles, modeled after the automotive bonus, but the question remains unresolved.
The Triumph of the Dark Side!
The penalty was supposed to be increased in the 2025 finance bill, but this text is likely to be abandoned due to lack of a government to implement it. Hence, the malus scale remains that of 2024, with a threshold at 118 g of CO2 per kilometer instead of the planned 113 g. Additionally, the penalty will remain capped at 60,000 euros instead of 70,000 euros. The weight-based penalty will still trigger at 1.6 tonnes, rather than 1.5 tonnes as initially planned. The abandonment of the bill also postpones the penalty on used cars, which was set to take effect in 2025 for imported vehicles and to expand to all used cars in 2026.
With the bonus reduced and the penalty stable for the time being, it is ultimately internal combustion engine cars that are the big winners of this frightening chaos. For electric cars, the effect would be rather dissuasive. In the end, we could laugh about it, but we really don’t feel like it.
This page is translated from the original post "Après la censure, le bazar automobile autour des malus et bonus" in French.
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