Ecological bonus 2025: reduction in aid, discover the new scale

The new scale of the ecological bonus is less favorable to motorists. State aid for the purchase of an electric vehicle has been reduced with a ceiling set at 4,000 euros.

Buying an electric vehicle will certainly be less easy for many French people. In search of savings, the government has decided to reduce its envelope intended to support the purchase of new electric cars by 1.5 to 1 billion euros in 2025 (including social leasing). The ecological bonus, introduced in 2017 in France to encourage citizens to adopt less polluting means of transport, is therefore being renewed but is becoming less advantageous.

While the most persistent rumor reported a reduction in aid, from 4,000 to 3,000 euros for the wealthiest households and from 7,000 to 5,000 for the poorest, the decree published on November 29, 2024 in the Official Journal reports an even greater reduction. The new scale of the ecological bonus now lists three categories classified according to the income level of potential buyers. The most modest, those justifying a reference tax income per share of less than 16,300 euros, will be able to benefit from aid of 4,000 euros, compared to 7,000 previously. Citizens whose reference tax income is between 16,301 and 26,200 euros per share can deduct 3,000 euros from the price of their future electric car. This aid falls to 2,000 euros for all those above 26,201 euros. Only vehicles whose price is less than 47,000 euros and who benefit from the environmental score remain eligible for the ecological bonus.

In addition to this reduction in aid, the government had wanted to tighten the scale of the ecological penalty a little more. But at the end of October, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly against the government's bill to increase this penalty. The penalties imposed on manufacturers on the price of their most polluting vehicles were to apply to more models. And for good reason, the threshold of the scale on carbon dioxide emissions was going to gradually lower over the next three years. From 5 grams of CO2 per kilometer in 2025, then 7 grams in 2026 and 2027. The threshold for triggering the penalty was therefore to increase from 118 g/km in 2024 to 113 g/km on January 1, 2025, then to 106 g/km on January 1, 2026 and finally to 99 g/km as of January 1, 2027.

At the same time, the government wanted to increase the maximum penalty rate by 10,000 euros per year. Set at 60,000 euros in 2024 for vehicles that emit more than 193 grams of CO2 per kilometer, it would have reached 90,000 euros in 2027! In addition to this CO2 emission criterion, there is the weight penalty. This tax on the mass in running order (TMOM) should change, but not next year. While it will still apply to vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes in 2025 (compared to 1.8 tonnes in 2023), those weighing 1.5 tonnes will also be affected. from 2026. To find out everything about the new ecological bonus-malus, follow the guide!

The ecological bonus is a sum of money allocated to purchasers of new vehicles that emit little CO2. The amount of the bonus is deducted from the purchase price of the vehicle if the dealer agrees to advance the amount of the bonus. Otherwise, the purchaser of the vehicle must request payment of the bonus by sending a bonus payment request form to the Agency for Services and Payment (ASP). À Conversely, the ecological penalty increases the purchase price of highly polluting vehicles. The penalty is paid when the vehicle is registered.

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The bonus-malus system applies to new private vehicles purchased in France or abroad. The ecological penalty concerns vehicles whose first registration in France was carried out after August 1, 2008. The ecological bonus, introduced in France in 2017, concerned all electric cars (up to a certain price) or hydrogen until December 15, 2023. Since then, only vehicles meeting certain criteria are eligible (read: Which cars are eligible for the ecological bonus in 2024 ?)

The ecological bonus ceilings have changed once again this year. Here are the amounts valid for the year 2025. As a reminder, the purchase price of the new electric vehicle must be less than 47,000 euros and it must be eligible thanks to its environmental score, which is calculated taking into account the ecological impact of all stages of its production and delivery.

• 4,000 euros for households with a reference tax income per share lower than 16,300 euros (deciles 1 to 5)
• 3,000 euros for households with a reference tax income per share between 16,301 and 26,200 euros (deciles 6 to 8)
• 2,000 euros for households with a reference tax income per share greater than 26,201 euros (deciles 8 to 10)

There has been but no longer exists since December 31, 2022. Before this date, government aid was much less than for an electric car since its amount was 1,000 euros for a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) worth up to 50,000 euros, whose CO2 rate was between 21 and 50 g/km, and whose autonomy éwas greater than é 50kmètres. 

The government tried to increase the amounts of the ecological penalty in 2025. But senators voted overwhelmingly against this bill at the end of October. It planned to lower its trigger threshold. The bar would have been raised to 113 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) released per kilometer compared to 118 grams in 2024. The idea was to continue this reduction in the following two years, by 7 grams in 2026 (106 grams) and another 7 grams in 2027 (99 grams). Also, the maximum amount of the penalty, which had been set at 60,000 euros in 2024 for vehicles emitting more than 193 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, was to increase by 10,000 euros for each of the next three years. It would have reached 70,000 euros in 2025, 80,000 euros in 2026 and 90,000 euros in 2027.

Scale of the ecological penalty in 2025 (based on that of 2024):

• At 118 grams of CO2: 50 euros of ecological penalty will have to be added to the price of the car.
• We then add 25 euros per additional gram of CO2 up to 122 grams/CO2.
• We then add 20 euros per additional gram of CO2 up to 126 grams/CO2.
• At 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty amounts to 310 euros (compared to 210 euros in 2023)
• At 140 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 983 euros (compared to 540 euros in 2023).
• At 150 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 2,049 euros (compared to 1,504 euros in 2023).
• At 160 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 4,279 euros (compared to 3,119 euros in 2023).
• At 170 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 8,770 euros (compared to 5,715 euros in 2023).
• At 180 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 22,380 euros (compared to 9,550 euros in 2023).
• At 190 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the ecological penalty rises to 45,990 euros (compared to 14,881 euros in 2023).
• From 194 grams of CO2: you will have to add 60,000 euros of ecological penalty to the price of the car.

Well yes! The ecological bonus is also valid under certain conditions for used vehicles. The amount is then 1,000 euros for the purchase (or long-term rental via an LLD contract), only on the used electric vehicle emitting a maximum of 20 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The ecological penalty existed, but was deleted.