The French government wants to modify aid for the purchase of electric cars so that they are directed only at vehicles manufactured in Europe.
The arrival of Chinese brands with a large number of electric cars in Europe is already causing the first reactions. One of them is the one recently announced by the French government, which includes limited aid so that only those who buy electric vehicles made in Europe can benefit from it.
Support for European electric cars only
The French government has presented a plan with which it intends to exclude all models that are not manufactured in Europe from support for the purchase of electric cars.
French President Emmanuel Macron has explained the reason for implementing this measure with these words: “We are going to support batteries and vehicles made in Europe because they have a good carbon footprint, we are not going to use money from French taxpayers to promote non-European industry.
In France, subsidies received by buyers of electric cars are up to 5,000 euros for vehicles that do not exceed 2,400 kg and cost no more than 47,000 euros. In Spain, with the Movs III scheme, the subsidy rises to €4,500 if a vehicle is not scrapped and €7,000 with scrapping.
Some unknown
It is not known at this time when the scheme, which France has announced will only support electric cars made in Europe, will be launched or what the fine print will be like. And that is, if the regulation is proposed in this way, it will not only affect Asian manufacturers like BYD, MG… but it will also affect other brands that manufacture their cars in those countries. , and even automobile companies in Japan, the United States, etc.
As an example, we have Tesla, which manufactures most of its vehicles in Shanghai (China), and could be one of the manufacturers that would be harmed by this measure. And, if we go further, we have other doubts about what will happen to models like the Dacia Spring, the best-selling electric car in France, which is manufactured in China and may run out of support.
However, France is not the first country to announce such a measure, as the United States has already approved something similar. Last summer, the Senate announced a subsidy of up to $7,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles as long as they are made in North America and 50% of their battery components come from there.
