Social leasing: can you benefit from an electric car for less than 150 euros per month?

An electric car rental from just 40 euros per month: the “social leasing” promised by Emmanuel Macron has been available from a handful of manufacturers since January 1. If they are approved by the State, they can offer this leasing subsidized by the State, which amounts to a maximum of 150 euros for the motorist (excluding insurance) for three years. The price depends on the model chosen - vehicles weighing more than 2,400 kg are excluded - from the small electric Twingo offered at 40 euros per month at Renault, to 149 euros for the Jeep Avenger, a more imposing model.

With these below-market rents, the government wants to give the poorest households a helping hand to convince them to abandon their thermal vehicles, while electric cars are still not very affordable. If the leasing contract is concluded directly between the customer and the dealer, the State has set by decree eligibility criteria to be able to benefit from this subsidized rate.

This electric leasing offer is reserved for adults who can prove they have a domicile in France. The reference tax income of the household, on the tax return for year N-1 of income for year N-2, must be less than 15,400 euros.

The government has also chosen to restrict the subsidy to individuals using their vehicle for professional use. You must therefore live more than 15 km from your workplace and travel there with your car or drive more than 8,000 km per year with your personal vehicle for work. “If you are an employee, your employer must provide you with a certificate justifying the distance,” specifies the government on its site. If you are not an employee, you must provide a sworn statement as well as proof of affiliation to a social security system for the current year.

This criterion could only be required initially, to prioritize requests. The government thus assures that “the system is intended to be extended in 2024 to all French people whose reference tax income is less than 15,400 euros, within the limit of available stocks”.

The limit of available stocks is the problem with social leasing. Even if you meet the criteria, it is not guaranteed that you will be able to benefit from a subsidized vehicle. “80,000 people asked to be contacted again when the first contracts were ready,” Minister of Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher told La Tribune Dimanche.

However, the system only provides for 20,000 vehicles by 2024. The minister assures that manufacturers are trying to strengthen it, citing the Stellantis group, “ready to put more vehicles in the system if the French show interest”. For 2025, the government is targeting an increase in power with 50,000 cars benefiting from its electric leasing offer.