Detour to sideline the Chinese more
After France, Italy may now also want to revise its EV subsidy to discourage the purchase of Chinese electric cars. The subsidy would therefore become dependent on the CO2 emissions from the production of the car.
The French and Italian economies, because of their car manufacturers (such as Peugeot, Renault and Fiat), have a considerable interest in these brands doing good business in the electric field. Chinese competition in particular could pose a serious threat due to cheap EVs and although there are increasing voices in the European Union to do something about this, France and Italy no longer want to wait. France will apply different conditions for the EV subsidy that buyers can claim, mainly to slow down Chinese competition. This is now also being considered in Italy, reports say Reuters.
From December 15, France will only make EV subsidies (up to €7,000 per car) available for cars that fall below a certain CO2 limit, including production. The latter de facto ensures that Chinese EVs are less likely to qualify for the purchase subsidy, because production in China and transport there contribute a fair amount to the CO2 pocket. Although there are rules in the EU that prescribe that member states may not favor local producers, this detour appears to be allowed, because the ‘reason’ is climate-related. In Italy people are watching with interest and it seems that a similar construction will sooner or later also come into force Reuters from various sources.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl