Morgan Planning Plus E Electric Roadster With...
News
Reviews
Guides
Gas Mileage
Car Types

The New Black Market: Buying And Selling EV Credits

 
6 800 views August 3, 2010

2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5

2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5

Enlarge Photo

It appears selling cars isn’t the only way for electric vehicle manufactures to earn a buck. Thanks to California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program, some manufacturers, such as Tesla, are earning additional cash by selling their unused pollution credits.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires manufacturers that sell more than 10,000 cars in the state of California to gather a number of these Zero Emission Vehicle credits. They can do this by basically selling their own EVs or low emission vehicles, or simply by purchasing the credits from companies like Tesla that have an abundance of them due to their full EV lineups.

The number of credits required by a company varies dramatically depending on sales volumes, market share and the type of vehicles sold. Credits earned through each sale are based on how far the vehicle can travel on a zero-emission fuel source. The Tesla Roadster, for example, which has a zero-emissions driving range of about 200 miles, gets four credits for every unit sold.

Selling unused credits can be big bucks for small start-up companies like Tesla. The underlying value of a credit is around $5,000 though this number should start to fall as more and more companies start to launch more green vehicles.

In Tesla’s IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was revealed that Honda had bought approximately $12.2 million of credits from Tesla. The practice is proving so lucrative that many other EV start-ups are actually including the sale of Zero Emission Vehicle credits in their business plans.

Importantly, without enough credits, companies can face massive fines and possible restrictions on sales in the state of California.

[Automotive News, sub req’d]





Tags:
Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Comments (6)

  1. By Jimza Skeptic Posted: 8/3/2010 11:52am PDT

    I always get a laugh when someone says this is a zero emissions vehicle... The emission is just transferred, in this case up the line, prior to charging. The power plant does the dirty work. Yes, I am sure there are a few good boys & girls out there using only wind and sun. But.... the majority of the people will be emitting! They just are not admitting! BTW, I am into the EV/EREV from an energy independence side of the battle, not so much from the eco side.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  2. By Lawrence Weisdorn Posted: 8/3/2010 12:40pm PDT

    Why is it that we never hear about the emissions associated with exploring for, drilling, extracting, transporting and refining fossil fuels?
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  3. By ev enthusiast Posted: 8/3/2010 3:48pm PDT

    jimza,
    why not laugh correctly ? to say it is merely transferred, creates a gross misconception.
    that implies an equal amount. i dont know why this is so hard to comprehend. the gasoline car only uses about 10-20% of the energy burned to move the vehicle. at the plant, it can be made highly efficient.
    we are comparing apples to oranges.
    we will get energy independence, as well as a tremendous increase in eco.
    the ev creates zero emissions. the gas car creates a lot.
    and as lawrence pointed out, getting the gas requires lots of emissions.
    when comparing the two, the ev system will create FAR LESS emissions than the gas car system.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  4. By alec Posted: 8/4/2010 1:25am PDT

    Come on,ev enthusiast,can't you really see what Jimza skeptic is really doing!?!
    He is the type of guy that spends his time posting messages everywhere,trying to stop the wave of disgust towards polution,oil,huge amounts of money being spent on the BIG OIL BIZZ....
    Hey Jimza,tell us,do you have a Hummer,do you work for GM or AMOCCO,are you currently inlove with Sarah Palin,do you believe just like her that the Earth is only 5000 years old and that there were no Dinosaurus , cause I can only tell you 1 thing....the Dinosaurus are still here....It's the Tea Party+Big oil (TEAPARTICUS HUMANGOUSOILUS).
    Fight the Future people!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  5. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/4/2010 9:14am PDT

    anyone still think that battery improvements wont be around ?
    click on my name to read about dupont's latest battery development, making lithium ion batteries 15-30% more powerful.
    as well as foreign plants, they are building one in virginia.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  6. By ev enthusiast Posted: 8/4/2010 9:39pm PDT

    everything continues to point towards a huge explosion.
    i sincerely believe that this is happening because the wealthy have screwed up the economy so bad, that they needed to bring an evolutionary product to market to bring the economy back.
    these batteries will be powering tools and other applicances. but of course, their biggest gadget will be the bev.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Find Green Cars

Go!


More from High Gear Media

 
 
Green Car Reports
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2011 Green Car Reports. All Rights Reserved. Green Car Reports is published by High Gear Media. Send us feedback.
 

Use the form below to send us a tip, give us feedback, or just say hello.

(max 750 characters)