Government
incentives for plug-in electric vehicles have been established by several
national and local governments around the world as a financial incentive for
consumers to purchase a plug-in electric vehicle. The amount of these
incentives usually depends on battery size and the vehicle all-electric range,
and some countries extend the benefits to fuel cell vehicles, and electric
vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal
combustion engine vehicles.
Government Subsidy Over the World
Several
countries have established grants and tax credits for the purchase of new
electric cars depending on the battery size. The U.S. offers the federal income
tax credit up to US$7,500, and several states have additional incentives. The
UK offers a Plug-in Car Grant up to a maximum of GB£5,000 (US$7,600). The U.S.
government also pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants for the development of
advanced technologies for electric cars and batteries. As of April 2011, 15 members
of European Union States provide economic incentives for the purchase of new
electrically charged vehicles, which consist of tax reductions and exemptions,
as well as of bonus payments for buyers of all-electric and plug-in hybrid
vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and some alternative fuel vehicles.
United States
First the Energy Improvement and
Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of
2009 granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor
vehicles. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also authorized
federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for
new PEVs.
The Clean
Vehicle Rebate Project initially funded with a total of US $4.1 million by the California
Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board, which was established in
order to promote the production and use of zero-emission vehicles, including plug-in
electric and fuel cell vehicles. The program was created from Assembly Bill 118
that was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in October 2007. The funding is
provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and the project is expected to go
through 2015.
References
"Notice 2009-89: New
Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit". Internal Revenue
Service. 2009-11-30.
Paul Hudson (2010-02-28).
"£5,000 grant to buy plug-in electric cars". London: The Daily Telegraph.
"Ultra-low carbon cars:
Next steps on delivering the £250 million consumer incentive programme for
electric and plug-in hybrid cars". Department for Transport. July 2009.
Woodyard, Chris (2010-07-14).
"Obama pushes electric cars, battery power this week". USA Today.
Paul Hockenos (2011-07-29).
"Europe’s Incentive Plans for Spurring E.V. Sales". The New York
Times.
"Overview of Purchase and
Tax Incentives for Electric Vehicles in the EU". European Automobile
Manufacturers Association. 2011-03-14.
"Consumer Energy Tax
Incentives: Plug-In Hybrid Conversion Kits". U.S. Department of Energy.
"Clean Vehicle Rebate
Project". Center for Sustainable Energy.
External link
Jae
답글삭제I really enjoyed reading your blog because this is a topic I do not know well. You have a lot of interesting facts that really made me think such as the grants and tax credits based on battery size. I have seen some malls such as Dulles Town Center where there is a small parking area close to the entrance that is only for electrical cars, it is almost like a privilege. I hope that we transition to electrical cars soon because global warming is starting to be a real big problem. I wish you would have said which is the most bought electric car and what country has the greatest number of electric cars.
Overall fantastic blog, very well written and in depth.
Has there been much research on how well government support of electric cars pays off in terms of the things that it should be getting achieved? For example, I know one of the reasons that electric cars are so big nowadays as a concept even is because they have such little pollution, such as none if they are powered by renewable energy. So what is the quantifiable payoff for a government, local or national, to support such endeavors? Two ways I am thinking of this are how much less of a carbon imprint an electric car leaves, and secondly just how much that matters overall. I wonder if it saves the governments money in the short term or long term.
답글삭제Jae - I love that the government is incentivizing people to go green, but do you know what the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (VA DMV) did to me this year? Essentially, they FINED me for driving a hybrid Prius!!! I have to pay an extra $64 tax, on top of the other registration fees and other taxes I have to pay, just because I drive a fuel efficient vehicle! They say they're trying to recoup the costs of gas tax money lost because I'm buying less gas and driving more miles, but the fact is that there are regular gasoline non-hybrids that get 40+ MPG like my Prius, and they don't have to pay the extra tax. So frustrating!!
답글삭제Hi Jae!
답글삭제I am all about the government giving tax break for people who are environmentally conscious. This provides an incentive for drivers to start transitioning into electric cars. However, I can see a potential vicious cycle with this. Only the upper middle-income to high-income people are able to afford electric cars. For these folks, they need the tax credits because they are making more money than the average American. For the lower middle-income to low-income people, they do not have the means to purchase electric cars. Even if they have electric cars, they would not make enough money to get the tax refunds they want (For example, if you pay $5000 a year for tax, it doesn't make sense that the government gives you $7000 in tax credits). In the end, for the majority of America that have low to average income, electric cars would not be a option for them. This cycle would continue until electric cars become much much more affordable.
Its funny how the government gives you tax credits for buy fuel-efficient vehicles but one draw back to these vehicles is that the use less or no gas. The problem with that is we rely on the gas tax to help fund road infrastructure and when we use less gas we pay less tax, and less tax rom gas means we have less money for road improvement. It’s funny how you help solve on problem being reducing CO2 emissions but no you have a less money to fix and expand the roads. I say the idea of a card is dead. Even in this area if we had all electric cars sure the air quality would improve put you would be widening the roads year after year. Mass transportation will be solution of the severe traffic conditions and the environmental issues related to the emissions.
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