Short Term Car Lease Europe

The short-term tax-free car leasing program was created way back in the 1950's and authorized by the French government to stimulate French tourism and the French automobile manufacturing industry.

Under this program you as a visitor to Europe become the first registered "owner" of a truly brand new French automobile already fully insured with excellent, zero-deductible insurance — effective in some 30 European countries — and supported by a full factory warranty and breakdown assistance service (including a replacement-car protocol for the unlikely possibility your brand new car ends up in a repair shop). Due to Brexit, UK residents now qualify for this lease program!

You get precisely the car model you choose. The registration and insurance are in your name. In a sense you own the car. But the amount you pay is merely commensurate with and probably quite cheaper than the cost of an "equivalent" car rental.

Again, when your car lease duration ends, your ownership of the car ends automatically. You just return the car and walk away. The vehicle can then be sold on the open market by Citroën as a used car, which in France means it can be sold at a much lower tax rate than can a new car. Thus everyone wins — except carmakers who export new cars to France (e.g. BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Volvo, etc).

Short Term Car Lease Requirements

The Citroen short-term tax-free car leasing program — i.e. involving "transit temporaire" or "TT" registration — is available to persons whose permanent residence is outside the European Union (EU) — so, yes, UK residents do now qualify! — whose age is eighteen years or more, and whose valid non-provisional driver's license in their country of residence has been valid for more than one year prior to their driving the Citroen lease vehicle. European passport holders living permanently outside of Europe are therefore welcome to participate in the TT car leasing program. European Union permanent residents, on the other hand, do not qualify to obtain a TT registered car. Even though residents of the United Kingdom now qualify for this car lease program, the cars cannot be taken into the United Kingdom, regardless of residence. And residents of Switzerland cannot drive their TT lease vehicle in Switzerland. Persons who will be working or studying in the European Union during a limited stay can qualify to obtain a TT registered vehicle for that stay, but they must qualify for TT Special registration, described below. However, persons who will receive compensation (including room, board, etc) from an entity in the European Union (i.e. rather than from an entity outside the EU) during their stay in Europe do not qualify to obtain a TT registered vehicle for that stay.

As indicated above, there are two specific types of "TT" lease registration available:

Who Else Can Drive the Car?

Again, there is no charge for additional drivers; i.e. they are free of charge. Indeed, two key fobs are provided with each vehicle.

The following individuals are authorized to drive a TT registered vehicle: you the client (i.e. the one person whose name is on the lease contract), your spouse or domestic partner, your parents and your children, provided they too meet the general conditions of eligibility of the program (i.e. they are at least 18 years of age and not a resident of the European Union). Regarding other persons — e.g. friends — who also meet the general conditions of eligibility of the program, they will be considered authorized drivers of the vehicle if you the lessee are in the car with them. This means the included insurance is as effective when these drivers are operating the vehicle as it is when you are operating the vehicle.

License

You only need to present your driver's license (and your passport) upon the pick-up occasion. You do not need to present an International Driving Permit (IDP) upon the pick-up occasion.

Your domestic driver's license will suffice throughout France, provided you are at least 18 years of age (again, there is no age maximum) and have held such valid license for at least one year prior to the pick-up date.

Technically speaking, however, certain other European countries — most notably Austria, Italy and Spain — do require of drivers who are not European residents an International Driving Permit (IDP) as well. You should contact the relevant tourist office, consulate or embassy to determine whether a country requires you to carry an IDP while driving. A good secondary indicator in this respect is the IDP webpage posted by the UK's Automobile Association. IDP's are sold for a nominal price by your national automobile club; you don't have to be a member to buy one. Just take your domestic driver's license, two passport-sized photos and the requisite cash to the club office. Ten minutes later you'll have your IDP. Basically an IDP is a means by which police in a foreign country can know — in terms of translations in nearly a dozen different languages — that your domestic driver's license is indeed recognized by the proper authorities in your country as being valid. Is it really necessary for you to obtain an IDP if you plan to drive in a country that reportedly requires one? In practice of course this depends on the particular police officer you might happen to be dealing with. The vehicle leasing company (e.g. Citroën Car‑2‑Europe) doesn't care whether or not you have an IDP; it's up to you whether you cover yourself in this regard.