War in the Middle East: taxi drivers will benefit from “purchase assistance” for electric cars from October

A first. The Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, announced this Thursday the “establishment, for the first time, of a specific ecological bonus dedicated to taxi drivers”. This, promises the minister, will be adapted to “specific needs and particularly in terms of vehicle size”.

“From October 1 and for a period of at least three months, they (taxis) will be able to benefit from purchase assistance of up to 5,500 euros for an electric vehicle if it is assembled within the European economy and whose battery is manufactured in one of these countries,” he detailed, during a press conference in which the government presented these measures. In total, 60,000 taxi drivers will be able to benefit from this aid.

“The purchase price of eligible vehicles can go up to 65,000 euros. The objective is to equip taxi drivers in rural areas for which the electric vehicle fleet is only 4% and where there is a real expectation from representatives of the profession,” continued the Minister of Transport.

“A significant gesture”

Finally, the Minister of Transport also addressed “quite insistently” the VTC platforms. “I invite VTC platforms to make a significant gesture to better take into account the current increase in fuel prices in the price of the trips they set for their drivers,” he concluded.

During this same conference, the government also announced the extension of aid for agricultural and fishing fuel for three months, as well as the provision of 710 million euros in new aid for the sectors and workers most in difficulty in the face of the energy crisis linked to the war in the Middle East.