NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

(Photo: Michael Fousert/Unsplash) In an effort to make electric vehicles more accessible to everyday drivers, France is working on a plan to lease EVs for €100 per month (roughly $100 USD). The strategy, which Budget Minister Gabriel Attal announced Sunday on a French news channel, involves subsidizing EV leases to make them more financially appealing. For low-income households, French president Emmanuel Macron has promised an even more affordable state-sponsored program. It’s unknown at this time how much of the bill (if any) these households will need to foot.

As of now, France offers subsidies as high as €6,000 for EVs that cost €47,000 or less. Some drivers enjoy even more savings when they participate in a federal trade-in program that offers money in exchange for gas-powered cars. But for those without the upfront funds to make such a significant purchase (or those who are hesitant about committing to an EV in the first place), a discount on a brand-new car isn’t enough. Drastic times call for drastic measures; with France and other parts of the world experiencing remarkably high temperatures due to climate change, Macron’s administration is under pressure to find creative ways to incentivize Earth-saving habits.

It’s currently unknown how drivers will be expected to charge their leased EVs. (Photo: Chuttersnap/Unsplash)

Attal says the €100 monthly price tag on a leased EV is less than many French drivers spend on gas. So far, however, nothing’s been said about how drivers will charge their leased EVs. From a practical standpoint, some might not want to invest in having a charging station installed at home. Doing so costs anywhere from $1,000 to $4,500 here in the US. Once the charging station purchase and installation are considered, it might not be worth it to someone whose lease only lasts a year or so. Based on France’s otherwise slow adoption of EVs, it’s unlikely there are sufficient publicly-accessible charging stations to support mainstream EV leases. According to Bloomberg, EVs have only made up 12 percent of the country’s new car sales so far this year.

Nevertheless, the French government is reportedly hard at work figuring out how quickly the new leasing program can be made available. Timing appears to depend on the available stock of EVs, which it’s safe to assume has been affected by supply chain issues like the chip shortage.

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