government subsidy

  • Cash for Clunkers banner with Mercury Sable, Albany, New York

    In recent years, governments have increasingly worked to encourage the sales of plug-in electric vehicles. Incentive programs for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle have been adopted across the world. The amounts granted and the mechanisms vary according to the individual program, but the goal is the same: reduce emissions. DON’T MISS: California to test electric-car 'point of purchase' rebate for electric cars Romania is no exception and now, according to The Quebec Times, the country has recently doubled its incentives for the purchase of plug-in electric cars. In comparison, the...

  • Nissan Leaf electric car using DC fast-charging station at BP in Metrolina area of Charlotte, NC
    Should electric-car makers subsidize fast charging for owners?

    By now, purchase incentives are a well-proven and valuable tool in increasing electric-car adoption. But what if incentives were applied to more than just the cars? Different automakers have shown varying levels of interest in developing DC fast-charging networks for the electric cars they produce...

  • Oil well (photo by John Hill)
    Ending $4 billion U.S. oil, gas drilling subsidies would have low impact: study

    U.S. subsidies to the oil and gas industries are often a flashpoint among electric-car advocates and environmentalists. They see a conflict in the government providing billions of dollars in incentives for drilling while simultaneously attempting to lower consumption of carbon-emitting energy...

  • 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, 2016 Toyota Mirai at hydrogen fueling station, Fountain Valley, CA
    Gas, Electricity, Hydrogen: How Many Cars Can 'Fuel' And What Will It Cost?

    Gas stations are ubiquitous across the world, many with diesel pumps as well, to fuel the more than 1 billion vehicles now roaming the surface of our planet. As regulators get increasingly serious about reducing carbon emissions from transportation, we'll see competing sites for refueling or...

  • China
    China's Electric-Car Future: Government Subsidies, Buyer Resistance

    Over the last few years, China has experienced some of the highest city pollution concentrations anywhere on earth--with concentrations of pollutants climbing far past dangerous levels on official scales. Roughly a quarter of that is due to heavy traffic, and it's prompted legislation to clean up...

  • Nissan Leaf (Image: Nissan Electric Vehicle on Facebook)
    Georgia Advocates Ask Legislature To Keep Electric-Car Tax Benefit

    Today, Georgia is among the best places in the country to buy an electric vehicle. Its electric-vehicle tax credit of $5,000 is among the highest offered by any state, and makes buying a battery-electric vehicle much more affordable. But advocates for the bill are now appealing to Georgia...

  • G-20 leaders in St. Petersburg. [Photo by The Guardian]

    At the 2013 G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg, world leaders agreed to begin the process of ending oil subsidies, and to phase out HFCs.

  • Electric Cars Charging in Norway
    How Much Is Norway Paying To Promote Electric Cars?

    With electric cars taking up 3 percent of the market for new car sales in a country of only five million people, Norway is one of the most electric car-friendly countries on the planet. Geographically small enough to minimize range concerns and with huge financial incentives for going electric...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011
    If You Want To Attack The Volt, Try To Get Your Math Right

    Few things seem to set off a certain part of the political spectrum like the Chevrolet Volt, the extended-range electric car from General Motors. It's been on sale exactly one year, so we think it's rather too early to deem the Volt a success or a failure, though that hasn't stopped its critics...

  • Corn Ethanol Pump
    U.S. Now Uses More Corn For Ethanol Than Anything Else

    You call it "corn", we call it "fuel" -- at least in the United States. Recent statistics show that, for the first time in history, America is using more corn to fill gas tanks than to fill the bellies of either humans or livestock. Corn in history For Americans, corn has long been tied to our...

  • BYD e6
    Pushing For Greener Cars, China Raises The Bar On Subsidies

    To qualify for a $465 government-funded sales subsidy, China will now require automakers to use engines under 1.6 liters and achieving a minimum fuel economy of 37 mpg.

  • Gas pump
    U.S. Senate Votes To End Ethanol Subsidies; They'll Continue Anyhow

    The once-unthinkable actually happened last Thursday: The U.S. Senate voted 73-27 to abolish a 45-cents-per-gallon subsidy to the U.S. ethanol industry. Immediately. Because the amendment to end ethanol credits is attached to a stalled economic development bill, however, it will have little...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt

    Doug Parks, vehicle line executive for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM's range-extended electric vehicle, confirmed Tuesday that the company loses money on every Volt it sells. This should hardly be a surprise. It's called R&D, folks Every major automaker spends billions of dollars a year on research and development costs. And they know that when they launch certain new technologies, they will lose money for some years before costs fall and volumes rise to let economies of scale make a particular new feature or technology profitable. Toyota's investments in its hybrid program, which has given...

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