From the crisis in the sales of the automobile industry, not even the France. At the Paris Motor Show, however, the signs look positive – not least because, after a period in which the continuation of the Show was uncertain, it is now starting to attract more manufacturers again.

However, the road to the Renaissance of France in the field of motoring, which President Macron spoke about two years ago in the framework of the Exhibition, is still long. The country is trying to boost sales through subsidies and so-called social leases.

At 25% the share of electric cars

In September, sales of passenger cars fell by 11.1%, while those of light commercial vehicles fell by 15.2% compared to the previous year. In the first nine months of the year, electric cars’ share of new registrations stood at 17% – a figure that “climbs” to 25% if you include hybrid models.

More than 50% of the new registrations are models from Renault and the Stellantis group, which includes the Peugeot and Citroën brands. The most successful German company remains Volkswagen with the T-Roc, Golf and Polo models.

Small reduction in subsidies

The subsidy for the purchase of an electric car was reduced in February from 5,000 to 4,000 euros. For citizens with an annual taxable income of less than 25,000 euros, the subsidy was maintained at 7,000 euros. In addition, the models for which funding is provided were limited.

This year the subsidies for the transition to electrification should not exceed €1.5 billion – last year €300 million more than the budget was actually spent. There is currently concern that subsidies will need to be cut further as France has to curb its spending due to its high public debt.

What are ‘social leases’?

In Germany, French social leases are seen as a model for promoting the transition to electrification. Social leasing boomed at the start of the year, but has been put on hold for this year due to a lack of suitable cars.

The program concerns a type of electric car lease from the state for an amount of 100 euros per month. It is aimed at lower income citizens, who are obliged to use a car for their work and who need to travel at least 15 kilometers to go from their home to their place of work. A necessary condition is that the price of the car does not exceed 47,000 euros and that it weighs less than 2.4 tons.

Initially, the government estimated 20,000 to 25,000 leases for 2024. But eventually 50,000 applicants emerged within a few weeks – and the program is expected to continue in 2025.

Charging stations are increasing

At the end of July 2024 France had 143,678 public charging stations for electric cars – 37% more than the previous year. By 2035, the number of public charging stations should have risen to 300,000 to 400,000 in order to be able to cover the needs of the 12 million electric vehicles estimated to exist in France by then.

Germany is currently at similar levels, where there are 145,857 public charging stations.

“La Bagnole” popular again

In a recent interview on the topic of environmental protection, President Macron said about the relationship of the French with the car: “We are tied to the car, we love it. I love it too.”

The “bagnole” (something like “skaraka”), as Macron described the car, is again becoming more popular with the younger generation, as a poll by the Cetelem Institute shows. Young people also love the car and definitely want to own one. 86% of French respondents up to the age of 30 say they are tied to their car – a figure that is similarly high in Germany at 84%.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas