Electric and Hydrogen Heavy Trucks: A New Super Incentive

Judging the subsidies still too low, France introduces a new bonus for electric and hydrogen trucks, buses, and coaches, up to 150,000 euros.

Since 2008, the French government has been offering a purchase incentive for new electric cars. This ecological bonus has ranged between 5,000 and 7,000 euros depending on the year. It also applies to light commercial vehicles targeting professionals and fleets. But an essential category was still missing.

Heavy trucks impact the climate

The Ministry of Ecology emphasizes that Transport currently represents the leading sector emitting greenhouse gases in France. Indeed, they account for about 31% of CO₂ emissions, according to the latest 2019 figures.

In this figure, “Emissions related to road traffic account for 54% of passenger vehicles” recalls the government, “and 20% for light commercial vehicles.” It seemed to overlook the 24% attributed to heavy trucks, a gap for ecological transition.

Are current aids still too weak?

The mistake has been partly corrected. An aid for the purchase of electric and hydrogen heavy vehicles appeared in December 2020 as part of France Relance. This aid is €50,000 for a truck and €30,000 for buses and coaches. It can reach up to 100 million euros and is expected to run until the end of 2022.

An additional aid, “the super-amortization scheme” has also existed since 2016, including electric and hydrogen since 2019. It offers an exceptional deduction of 60% for vehicles under 16 tons and 40% above (20% under 3.5 tons).

But it’s still not enough to encourage the transition. “Trucks, buses, coaches account for 7% of our CO₂ emissions” recalled Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate for Transport, on February 14, 2022, “to make them less polluting, we are not holding back on means.”

This is why the ministry will deploy a super-ecological bonus for heavy trucks.

A super bonus for electric and hydrogen cars, buses, and trucks

Following the Ministerial Council for Development and Innovation in Transport (CMDIT), a call for projects “Ecosystem of Electric Heavy Vehicles” has been announced. With a maximum budget of 65 million euros, it concerns two main categories:

• all stakeholders contributing to the deployment of electric mobility and freight transport
• “clean” solutions, especially for short distances and urban logistics

For these projects, a grant varies depending on the weight and type of electric vehicle. It can reach up to:

• 150,000 euros for over 26 tons
• 100,000 euros for over 26 tons
• 100,000 euros for an electric bus or coach

However, the aid cannot exceed 65% of the difference between the electric vehicle and the diesel equivalent. It also cannot be combined with the current bonus for hydrogen or electric heavy vehicles.

Retrofit and charging stations for heavy trucks also

Good news, the bonus now includes retrofit, that is, transforming an old thermal truck or bus. These vehicles were absent from previous aids. For example, this could support Transdev’s project to convert diesel buses to hydrogen.

When talking about aid for electric mobility, vehicle purchase alone is not enough. The charging infrastructure must keep pace with the growing number of vehicles, but this is a significant cost for companies. The call for projects therefore considers stations, which could see support of “up to 60%”.

Also read: Marseille: All RTM buses will be electric by 2035