Electric vehicles (EVs) constitute the cleanest transport mode for hundreds of millions of Europeans who still need a car in their daily life. Yet, public perception around EVs remains divided, with many still seeing EVs as too expensive, too elitist or too urban.
To successfully transition to clean mobility, we need to shift the political narrative around EVs. We don’t need a costly and heavy US-manufactured Tesla marketed for urban upper-class men. But an affordable, light, EU-manufactured car designed for working-class men and women living in our rural areas.
Such a narrative shift is urgent, as rural working-class drivers are particularly exposed to the forthcoming increase in petrol prices, resulting from a recovery of the oil market, the next geopolitical crisis or the full implementation of the new EU carbon market for buildings and road transport (ETS 2), starting in 2027.
To mitigate the political risk associated with ETS2, we need to make EVs accessible to those who need it the most. This is why we need an EU Social Leasing Scheme. Building on the French January 2024 social leasing experiment, the EU Social Leasing Scheme could ensure that up to one million people per year can start accessing affordable EVs.
Starting next year and lasting for at least ten years, it could support 10 million European families, thus granting access to affordable EVs to around 35 million people.
It’s a leasing scheme; it allows people to access an electric car without paying any upfront cost (which might typically be around €30,000 ), but instead by paying a monthly rate that would range between €50 and €180 per month.
It’s a social scheme; it focuses on people who are the most in need to access a light and affordable electric car. For instance, individuals earning less than the national median income and living 10 to 15 kilometres away from their workplace.
It’s an EU scheme: it is co-funded with EU funds (e.g. Social Climate Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility) and national revenues from EU policies (e.g. ETS1). Moreover, it should be politically spearheaded by the European Commission which already benefits from political support coming from both Council and Parliament, as covered in a Euronews column published last April by Polish Minister Bolesta and myself.
The car models eligible for the scheme will be selected at EU level to ensure those cars are manufactured in Europe in a way that respects environmental protection and social justice. Most importantly, pooling the demand for light and affordable electric car at EU level ensures the cost-efficiency of the scheme, allowing car manufacturers to opt for a pricing strategy that focuses more on volume than over unit margins.
To conclude, the European Social Leasing Scheme should become a priority public policy to show that the EU is a political project for the working class and the middle class.
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