MG and Dacia Ineligible for the Eco Bonus in 2024?

While the conclusions of the consultation on the future of the Green Bonus are awaited, a first stone has been thrown into the pond.

And this stone does not come from an unreliable source, since it is the Minister of Energy Transition, Madame Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who revealed it during her latest appearance on TF1’s 8 PM news.

The government has never hidden its goal of prioritizing European production for the allocation of this valuable bonus, excluding cars produced outside the union, notably Chinese models that threaten to flood the market. It is currently awarded to new electric vehicles costing less than €47,000 and weighing less than 2.4 tons, with no specific ecological criterion. A distinctly French feature, whose cost causes quite a bit of grumbling since the precious funds are mostly spent in the pockets of foreign manufacturers. Bercy estimates that out of the €1.2 billion allocated annually by the state to this bonus, 40% would benefit Chinese factories.

Free trade in question

How then to bypass the free trade rules set by the World Trade Organization? By taking into account the carbon footprint of each vehicle produced for the potential bonus. “Today, we have companies in France and Europe manufacturing while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and on the other side of the world, manufacturing with electricity that relies on coal and has a very high environmental impact,” explains TF1 the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

National preference?

A disaster for a brand such as MG whose majority of production currently benefits from these advantages. An iconic British brand, it was bought in 2007 by the Chinese group SAIC. Thanks to some of the lowest prices on the market, it now ranks sixth among the most sold electric models in France. But such a scheme would create a significant collateral damage, with the Dacia Spring, the group’s low-cost model, which is the second best-selling electric car in France. Made in China, without the ecological bonus, its price would rise from €15,800 to over €20,000. Most Teslas sold in France would also be affected, but the American manufacturer has an almost unlimited pricing margin and has especially anticipated these protectionist measures with its Berlin factory aiming to increase production from 500,000 to 1 million units per year.

Vehicles “produced in France and Europe, expected to be launched next year, such as the new R5 or the new Scenic, should benefit from this ecological bonus,” assures the minister, also mentioning the Fiat 500 and the Peugeot 208. “It’s a win for the French, a win for employment, and a win for the planet.”

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