France has increased the grants available to people looking to buy an e-bike and has also significantly raised the sum available to those who are looking to buy one after trading in their car. Motor vehicles can now be traded in for up to €4,000 to help buy an e-bike.

A similar scrappage scheme has been run in Lithuania for the last couple of years and has proven hugely popular.

When it was first mooted in France last year, Olivier Schneider of the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB), commented: “For the first time it is recognised that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number.”

Wion reports that following a recent Parliamentary vote, the sum available via the primes à la conversion scheme has risen to €3,000 and up to €4,000 for lower income households.

Also, while it was previously only possible to get one of these subsidies per household, now each person in the household swapping their vehicle for an e-bike will can get a grant.

Straightforward grants that do not hinge on scrapping a motor vehicle have also been raised from €200 to €300 and up to €300 for lower income households and people with disabilities.

E-cargo bike grants have also been doubled from €1,000 to €2,000 – although funding is capped at 40 per cent of the original price of the bike.