France halts €100-a-month electric car leasing scheme after huge demand

Traffic on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The government said the scheme had received more than 90,000 applications by the end of January. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

The French government has suspended an electric car leasing scheme after only six weeks following a surge in demand that more than doubled the number of vehicles required.

Officials said the scheme, launched in December to help low-income households and cut carbon emissions, would be relaunched next year.