The government has confirmed that the conversion bonus for scrapping an old vehicle to purchase an electric car will disappear next year.
The Ministry of Economy confirmed the removal of the conversion bonusa system which allowed French people to benefit from financial assistance when purchasing a low-polluting vehicle in exchange for an old car. This deletion will be included in the 2025 draft budget, and marks a refocusing on the ecological bonus.
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Economy, “the government confirms that it is canceling the conversion bonus system, which is based on a condition of removing a polluting vehicle, to concentrate on the ecological bonus”. The announcement, initially relayed by BFM Businesswas confirmed by Bercy to AFP.
The success of the bonus and its limits
The conversion bonus was financial assistance intended for owners of older vehicles, often more polluting, who wished to invest in a cleaner vehicle. The amount of this bonus, which varied depending on the income of the tax household, was reduced in 2024 to between 1,500 and 5,000 euros. This system had already been restricted to the most modest households, representing around half of French households.
Despite its imminent abolition, the conversion bonus was a real success between 2018 and 2022, a period during which more than a million bonuses were distributed, according to the Ministry of Ecology. This aid mainly benefited rural households, who represented a significant part of the beneficiaries.
Statistics show that 75% of vehicles scrapped were diesels with an average age of 19 years. In return, 70% of the vehicles purchased were new, and 66% of them were “zero-emission” models, that is to say electric or hydrogen.
Refocusing on the ecological bonus
With the removal of the conversion bonus, motorists wishing to purchase a new electric vehicle will now only be able to count on the ecological bonus and social leasing. The ecological bonus, which currently varies between 4,000 and 7,000 euros depending on income, therefore remains the government’s main lever to encourage households to turn to electricity.
The Bercy spokesperson stressed that France is making a different choice from some of its European neighbors, notably Germany, which has chosen not to maintain such aid. In France, the ecological bonus is considered “the main tool to support households in the decarbonization of their lifestyle and the development of the electric vehicle market”.
At the same time, the government is working on the use of energy saving certificates to continue to support households, particularly the most modest, in the rental of clean vehicles. These certificates could offer additional help to those who want to make the transition to less polluting cars.
Source: www.autoplus.fr
