Already 100,000 conversion bonuses have been used since June 1, as revealed by Europe 1 last week. But has the government suspended the online application process set up by the Ministry of Ecological Transition? It is in any case the impression made by many Internet users, who wanted to take the step since July 1.
On the side of the Ministry, we assure that it was a simple update, not a suspension. "For a conversion bonus file, we invite you to renew your request from July 31": this was what motorists could read on the platform primealaconversion.gouv.fr. Many Internet users have wondered if the device was a victim of its success or if it was simply suspended. But the conversion premiums are not stopped, assures the government. It is therefore always possible to go to the dealership and take advantage of it since it is the "date of invoicing of the vehicle that counts and not the date of filing of the request", specifies the Ministry.
A very complex count
If this update was necessary, it is also because the premium counting is very complicated. The figures are so far only estimates, feedback from each dealership collected by the National Council of Automobile Professions (CNPA). It will take time to know exactly when the 200,000 premiums will be reached, explains Christophe Maurel, president of the dealer branch at the CNPA: "The counting means is not absolutely precise, the ideal would be that we may have certificates of destruction of vehicles. What we do have and will have later in the summer. " Quite simply because there is a maximum delay of three months to "break the vehicle", specifies Christophe Maurel.
A new premium already in the pipeline?
According to estimates from the CNPA, the 200,000 bonuses should be sold around August 15. June was a very busy month with over 20,000 conversion bonuses per week. Professionals in the sector would like the device to be extended until December 31, to continue supporting the recovery of the automotive market. The government is not opposed to this idea since Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy announced on July 2, "the possibility of extending the conversion premium". Although it would certainly take a different form.