The Eco Bonus decreases by 1,000 euros for the wealthiest

As expected, the Eco Bonus decreases from 5,000 euros to 4,000 euros for the wealthiest French households.

The government had made no secret of its intention to reduce the Eco Bonus for the highest-earning French. A logical choice when analyzing the reasons behind this boost for the transition to a less polluting vehicle.

Help and reassure

Today, the prices of electric vehicles are very close, with equal performance and range, to those with internal combustion engines. The Bonus is therefore not just a purchasing aid, but a tool to promote low-emission mobility. A way to dispel drivers’ concerns about range, charging infrastructure, and often, unfortunately, security—sometimes compared by uninformed individuals to “barbecues on wheels”!

The decree published this Tuesday, February 13th, in the Official Journal states that the 2024 scheme « reduces by 1,000 euros the maximum amount of the ecological bonus applicable to the purchase of new passenger cars and vans for households in the five highest income deciles».

Bonus under conditions

In practice, this affects half of the beneficiaries. At the end of December, the government had already indicated it would lower the eco bonus for households « from decile 6 to 10 », but that the bonus would remain at 7,000 euros for households with a taxable income per share of 14,089 euros or less, which includes the existing 5,000 euro increase and a bonus of 2,000 euros already in place.

According to figures released by INSEE in 2021, the 6th decile starts at 27,310 euros. The government was scheduled to specify the exact income brackets later that day, as, to be completely transparent, the details remain somewhat unclear…

This scheme is, of course, victim to its own success. Originally open to everyone and for all electric vehicles, it caused a surge in Bercy’s budget, which reached 1.7 billion euros in 2023. Hence the need for safeguards. Initially, the aid was limited, until December 15, 2023, to a specific list of locally produced vehicles with a satisfactory environmental score. To simplify, vehicles produced in China at lower cost and transported to Europe by ship, often using large amounts of diesel fuel, are now excluded. This excludes best-sellers such as the MG4, Tesla Model 3, or Dacia Spring.

The conditions in terms of vehicle weight (less than 2.4 tons) and price (less than 47,000 euros) remain unchanged.