France to Revise Electric Car Incentives, Impacting Moroccan Auto Industry

The ecological bonus in France which "is supposed to support buyers of electric vehicles by giving them a little financial boost" benefits vehicles designed outside the European territory, says Frandroid. Based on this observation, President Emmanuel Macron, during a speech aimed at unveiling his strategy to "stimulate" the country’s "reindustrialization", announced a modification of the ecological bonus. His ambition is to make France "the first European country to revise the criteria for granting the automotive bonus as part of the draft law, in order to better integrate the carbon footprint related to the production of the vehicle and so that public aid is specifically oriented towards these objectives." These criteria for awarding this reformed ecological bonus will be defined "by the end of the year," the French president said.

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In other words, it is a question of "taking into account the carbon footprint" of vehicle production and favoring vehicles manufactured in Europe. "Manufacturers will therefore have to justify that they respect these required ecological criteria in order to be able to benefit from the ecological bonus," added Emmanuel Macron. This measure, which could encourage international manufacturers to build factories in Europe, could undermine the Moroccan automotive industry. Manufacturers present in Morocco could leave the kingdom for France.

With this reform, France is following in the footsteps of the United States, which adopted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a package of protectionist measures for the climate, in August 2022.