France to cut electric car subsidies for high-income buyers, redirect savings to less affluent

According to a report by Reuters, the French government is planning to limit the subsidies for electric vehicle purchases, particularly for its wealthiest customers. This new regulation will reduce the existing subsidy by around 20 percent.

Specifically, this represents a reduction from 5,000 to 4,000 euros ($5,571 to $4,457) for high-income buyers. Meanwhile, other customers can continue to expect a subsidy of 7000 euros ($7,799).

"We are modifying the program to assist more people with less money," the Minister of Environmental Transformation, Christophe Bechu, said on France Info radio.

The savings from subsidies for wealthier customers will be redirected to more financially constrained consumers. However, this would be within the confines of their established budget, which currently stands at 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion).

Notably, the French can benefit from local government support in addition to nationwide subsidies. For instance, within the Paris agglomeration, subsidies for purchasing electric cars can range from 2250 to up to 9000 euros ($2,505 to $10,019).

However, the fact remains that the era of electric car subsidies may be nearing its end, and the reduction in subsidies for the wealthiest is just the first sign of this. Regardless, the situation in France is still preferable compared to Germany, where the subsidy scheme stopped last December.