The beneficiaries of the “100 euro car” had not been warned of the risk of fines they ran.
Will some beneficiaries of social leasing regret their choice? This new system, which came into force on January 1, 2024, allows the most modest households to access the rental of an electric car at low cost. To be able to drive a Renault Twingo E-Tech for 40 euros per month (excluding insurance) or a Peugeot e-2008 for 149 euros per month (excluding insurance), in addition to the income criteria, two conditions were imposed on customers: the duration rental of minimum 36 months and limitation to 12,000 kilometers per year to avoid paying additional costs.
Beyond being able to "afford" an electric car for a low rent, some of the lucky ones may have said to themselves that they would be able to make a little bit of money by paying for it. renting their vehicle. The initial decree published on January 1 left the door open to such a practice since it was nowhere stipulated that it was prohibited. However, on February 12, the date of its publication in the Official Journal, Decree No. 2024-102 saw a few additions, including one that could cool the designs of the smart guys.
In particular, we can read that it "prohibits the subletting of vehicles benefiting from leasing assistance during the validity period of the rental contract." In other words, those among the 50,000 beneficiaries of social leasing in France who would like to scrape a few euros by subletting their car for more than it costs them would not be in compliance with the law. And in the event that they try to circumvent it, they will be exposed to a very large fine.
The amount of this also appeared during the publication of the new version of the official decree: the subletting of an electric victory to a third party within the framework of social leasing will be punished by a fine of 1,500 euros. Enough to give pause to those who imagined they could start a business. And what if a renter decided to lend their car to a family member or friend? The decree does not specify this, which suggests that the government above all wants this aid system for the most modest households – which costs the State 13,000 euros per rented vehicle – not to be misused for profit. .
It is still important to remember that it is authorized to lend your car to a third person if they have a valid driving license and use the vehicle under the conditions provided for in the insurance contract. If you lend your car to a driver who is not mentioned in your contract, then the insurance intervention will be limited and the deductible that will be applied to you may be increased. Here too, the price to pay can be extremely high.
