President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday (May 26) announced an 8-billion euro (US$8.8 billion) plan to revive France's auto industry by making it the European leader in electric cars, in a boost for a sector brought to its knees by the coronavirus, reports CNA.
Macron said the package would include one billion euros in subsidies for electric and hybrid cars, adding France should be producing a million green cars annually by 2025.
The "historic" intervention will aim to turn France's rechargeable car industry into Europe's biggest, the president said.
Visiting a car factory in Étaples in northern France, Macron said his government would seek to boost flagging customer demand with a subsidy of 7,000 euros for each individual buying an electric car, 5,000 for each company purchase, and 2,000 per hybrid rechargeable car.
Starting Jun 1, there would also be an aid of 3,000 euros for converting from a petrol-fuelled car to a less-polluting one - and as much as 5,000 euros to upgrade to an electric vehicle, the president said.
"In total, the state will provide a bit more than 8 billion euros in aid to the sector," said Macron.