Decrease in the ecological bonus, a gift to Chinese manufacturers?

The reduction of the ecological bonus from 5000 to 4000 euros restores commercial relevance for Chinese manufacturers. All that for this?

One step forward, one step back. Not easy to follow the government’s logic on ecology and especially the ecological bonus. After the 2023 media frenzy about the lack of ecological virtuosity of Asian cars produced on the other side of the world and then imported after a long polluting journey by boat, the French government had decided to cut the bonus for electric vehicles not produced in Europe.

It was a very bold act intended to give the Old Continent the green light to reindustrialize. Germany went even further, completely stopping the bonus for electric cars, whether Chinese, European, or German. Electric is the norm of tomorrow, so no longer needing subsidies. Manufacturers have huge profit margins, as Stellantis’ results in 2023 (18 billion euros profit, a record!) prove. Germany rightly relies on the fact that automakers lie about the actual cost price of electric cars, and history proves they are right.

A Tesla Model Y is now 10,000 euros cheaper than when it was launched in 2020. It’s not savings on industrial tools or raw materials that made such reductions possible…

Chinese cars making a comeback?

From the moment the ecological bonus for Chinese and American cars ended, these same manufacturers did not panic: “Even without a bonus, we will be cheaper than your European cars.” The tone was set. Still, the artificial gap of 5000 euros and the message of outsourced production raised awareness about the importance of choosing a European product that sustains employment.

But by reducing the bonus by 1000 euros, the message is once again muddled, just two months after excluding cars produced far away. Today, all Chinese manufacturers have notably adjusted all prices from 4000 to 7000 euros, fully erasing the absence of a bonus.

The only interest for the French government is thus to restore its trade balance by no longer funneling taxpayer money to non-European firms. That’s already pretty good, in a sense. But can French manufacturers, in particular, leverage the ecological bonus to establish themselves in the electric car market? The future will tell…

TO READ ALSO: The Ecological Bonus Reduced by 1000 Euros for the Wealthier