Cashhelpto swap from cars to bikes

Petrol and dieselpowered vehicles can be exchanged for up to €4,000 subsidy for an electric bike under a new scheme in France.

The subsidy is the most generous of an array of incentives to persuade the country to embrace change.

The scheme began this week and is the latest part of France’s Le Plan Vélo, which opened in 2018, and has helped it become one of Europe’s fastest bicycle adopters, although it is still behind the two-wheel champions of northern Europe – the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

The maximum €4,000 grant applies to lower-income households in lowemission zones. Paris already offers residents up to £500 to buy an electric bike.