You might have noticed an increased number of electric vehicles on the road and wondered whether it’s a good time to buy or lease one yourself. In addition to the environmental benefits of an electric vehicle and the fuel savings at the pump, there are also numerous state incentive programs to help with the cost of buying or leasing the vehicle itself.
Federal Programs
- Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit: Individuals in low-income communities and non-urban areas who purchase and install qualifying residential charging equipment, may receive a tax credit of 30% of the cost, up to $1,000.
California Programs
- Pre-owned Electric Vehicle Rebate Program: When purchasing or leasing a pre-owned electric vehicle, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers may be eligible for up to $4,000 in rebates.
- California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP): This program is designed to offset the costs of eligible hybrid and battery-electric medium and heavy duty vehicles through purchase vouchers at qualified dealerships. Generally intended for fleet vehicles.
- MCEv Charging for Your Workplace or Multifamily Property: This program offers rebates of $4,000-$4,500 per Level 2 charging port and $750-$875 per Level 1 charging port to cover the charging hardware and installation costs for worksites and multifamily properties located in MCE’s Service Area.
- Vehicle Retirement Customer Assistance Program: This program offers eligible consumers an incentive to retire their operational vehicle. Consumers meeting the income eligibility requirement may receive up to $2,000 for each vehicle retired. All other vehicle owners may receive $1,350 to retire their vehicle.
- Driving Clean Assistance Program: The Driving Clean Assistance Program provides grants and affordable financing to help low-income Californians purchase a new or used battery electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel-cell electric vehicle. Qualified applicants may be eligible for grants up to $12,000 through Clean Cars for All or $7,500 through Financing Assistance.
- Electric Vehicle Rate Plans: PG&E offers three rate plans which can help lower energy costs for residential customers with an EV. EV2A combines your vehicle’s electricity costs with those of your residence. EV-B involves the installation of another meter, which separates your electric vehicle’s costs from those of your home’s electricity usage. E-ELEC is ideal if you electrify your home with one or more of the following: Electric vehicle (EV), battery storage, electric heat pump for water heating or climate control (space heating or cooling).
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Loss Reserve Program: Property owners in a PACE-designated area can use PACE financing for clean energy home improvements, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure, without a down payment and repayment included in their property tax bills.
And, if you are worried about running out of charge while driving a plug-in electric vehicle in Contra Costa County, there are plenty of electric vehicle charging stations available for public use.
Ride & Drive Clean’s EV Discount Campaign (Seasonal)
Ride and Drive Clean, a nonprofit collaboration, offers limited-time savings events with discounted pricing on a variety of new battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. If you purchase a vehicle through the campaign, you can still take advantage of all government, utility, manufacturer, and Costco incentives. You can sign up for their mailing list to be notified when they announce the list of vehicles offered with discounted pricing.
Electric Vehicle Savings Calculator
With PG&E’s EV Savings Calculator, find out instantly how much you’d save on the purchase of a specific make and model of EV. Use the calculator to search and compare EVs, and discover thousands of dollars of savings through incentives, rebates and more.
