In what some people would probably consider an ideal world, EVs would compete with ICEVs on their own merits without subsidies.
IMO, this isn't that world. The subsidies have helped increase volume for serial production. From what I've read, that in turn is at least partly responsible for today's much lower battery costs. I read recently that US EV sales fell 80% between September and October. It was the usual "see, nobody wants EVs" story. And as usual, it buried the lead - the fact that the plunge in demand was caused by the rapid unscheduled disassembly of the $7500 federal tax credit. Sales fell off in Germany, too, when they scrapped their 4500 euro subsidy at the end of 2023, but they've since recovered. Rather than nuking their EV subsidy entirely¸ France has been gradually phasing it out, sort of. It used to be dead simple - buy an EV, get 6k euros (later 7k) toward the purchase. Now, as I hear often here :-), "c'est compliqué." The eco-bonus is now means-tested - that is, the more you earn, the lower your discoiunt. There are vehicle price and weight limits. BUT, there's an extra 1k euros on offer if it has an EU-made battery, and THAT is NOT subject to the means testing or price and weight limits. So, yeah, "it's complicated." France has also introduced what they call "leasing social." It's meant for folks who drive at least 15km to work, and earn less than about 16k euros per year. The first program was in early 2024. You could lease an EV for as little as 50 euros a month. They expected 25,000 applications and got over 90,000. It sold out in 6 weeks. This time the subsidy is lower, but you can still lease one of 3 models (Citroen EC3, Fiat Grand Panda, and Hyundai Inster) for under 100 euros per month. Other larger and/or more expensive EVs are 100-200 euros/mo. The Renault 5 retro-look EV has been a success in France this year. It's been in first place for new French registrations for some time. The Renault 5 social leasing price of 120 or 139 euros per month - depending on model / autonomy - has given it a further boost. So in October, EVs were over 31% of new registrations in France, up from 23.5% last October. In raw numbers, the EV increase over last October is 63%. Subsidies still work. Full story: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/07/evs-at-31-1-share-in-france-social- leasing-boost Shortcut URL: https://cntp.me/JnTSEU5 David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = All my life, I've been running through the fields and picking up bright objects. I turn one over and say, "Yeah, there's a story." -- Ray Bradbury = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to [email protected] No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
