In December, the French government launched a leasing scheme designed to help low-income households make the transition to EVs. Now, after only six weeks, the program has been suspended following a surge in demand.

The original plan was to offer 25,000 European-built electric cars for lease at a price of €100-150 ($107-161) per month. The number of cars was doubled in response to massive demand, but even this wasn’t enough. The government said it had received over 90,000 applications by the end of January.

The means-tested leasing scheme was open to French residents who live at least 9 miles from their place of work, drive more than 8,000 km per year, and have taxable income of less than €15,400. The EVs, which must be manufactured in Europe, each cost €47,000 or less, and the government is subsidizing each vehicle up to a maximum of €13,000.

The program is “a victim of its success,” said Industry and Energy Minister Roland Lescure. “It all happened quicker than we thought. We’ll perhaps slow down a bit to give the French manufacturers some time and then, accelerate, accelerate, accelerate.”

Lescure told media outlet France 3 that the project was constrained by the number of EVs being made in France. He urged the country’s carmakers to speed up production. “Today, there is a great demand and we don’t yet have enough products made in France. That means French [automakers] need to step up the pace.”

The government says the scheme will be relaunched next year—details of the 2025 scheme will be published near the end of this year.

Source: The Guardian