incentives

Austria to let drivers of electric cars go faster

Austria is offering would-be electric-car owners (and current ones) a tempting incentive to go tailpipe-emissions-free: permission to drive faster than those with gasoline, diesel, or hybrid vehicles in certain conditions. Under a recently approved amendment to the country’s speed limits... read more

November 2, 2018 by Bengt Halvorson -

Tesla sales: how much do rebates matter to buyers in Canada?

March 27, 2018

Here's how California's carpool (HOV-lane) stickers work now: updated

March 27, 2018

Mitsubishi helps Costa Rica toward goal of Latin American electric-car pioneer

March 21, 2018

Automakers, electric utilities want electric-car tax credit extended

With Tesla likely to hit 200,000 electric cars sold in the U.S. later this year, it will begin a phasedown process during which the income-tax credits available to its buyers... read more March 20, 2018 by John Voelcker

Smog in Delhi, India (by Flickr user Mfield)

India plan for converting to electric cars by 2030 may get trimmed, a lot

Two years ago, the government of India proposed a remarkable and ambitious goal: make every new vehicle coming onto its roads electric by 2030. The plan was largely a... read more March 12, 2018 by John Voelcker

2017 BMW i3 REx range-extended electric car [photo: Chris Neff]

More ways to get $10K off BMW i3 electric car: new utilities add discount

How badly do you want to buy a BMW i3 electric car? Initially, it looked like you'd have to move to areas of California where Southern California Edison would be your... read more March 11, 2018 by John Voelcker

Tesla expects 200,000th U.S. sale this year, electric-car tax credits to start phaseout

It's been a topic of discussion for years: What will happen when a carmaker reaches the cap on U.S. sales of electric cars that qualify for the full federal tax credit of... read more February 26, 2018 by John Voelcker

What happens to electric-car sales when tax credits sunset? Each maker differs

Toward the end of last year, electric-car shoppers began to think about a U.S. market without the $7,500 federal tax credit for their purchases of plug-in vehicles. While the... read more February 22, 2018 by Sebastian Blanco

California now testing pre-approved electric-car rebates in San Diego

It's clear that incentives to buy specific cars work best when they can be applied directly at the time of sale. That's why purchase rebates are widely preferred by... read more February 16, 2018 by John Voelcker

Will GM or Tesla buyers lose electric-car tax credits first? (updated)

A major contributor to electric-car sales is the program under which buyers of new electric cars qualify for a federal income-tax credit of up to $7,500. But these tax... read more February 12, 2018 by Stephen Edelstein

2015 Nissan Leaf charging back at home after 1,000-mile road trip [photo John Briggs]

Budget deal restores tax credits for EV charging stations, electric motorcycles, fuel-cell cars

Fears that Congress would kill the federal tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric car were laid to rest in December when that incentive survived the $1.5 trillion... read more February 11, 2018 by John Voelcker

Virginia State Capitol, Skip Plitt/C'ville Photography [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Virginia state-tax rebate up to $3,500 for electric-car purchase dies in subcommittee

Virginia is for lovers—and electric-car advocated had hoped that it would soon be for lovers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids, too. A bill proposed in mid-January... read more February 5, 2018 by Mark Stevenson

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland [photo: Forth]

When do electric-car tax credits expire? (updated for 2018)

In less than three months, personal income-tax returns or 2017 will be due for most U.S. adults. Some of those taxpayers will have bought a plug-in electric car last year... read more February 1, 2018 by John Voelcker

Georgia state capitol (pic by Andre M. via Wikimedia)

Georgia to take second try at electric-car tax credit after killing first one

Several years ago, Georgia offered a generous state-tax credit for purchase of a zero-emission vehicle, and its sales of electric cars boomed. When state politics interceded... read more January 29, 2018 by John Voelcker

2018 Nissan Leaf electric car, test-driven by Shiva of Fremont, California, Oct 2017

Why everyone leases electric cars rather than buying (and maybe you should too)

Leases are a minority of overall car sales in the U.S., though the numbers soar for pricier luxury vehicles versus the less expensive, plain-Jane vehicles that serve as daily... read more January 26, 2018 by John Voelcker

2015 Nissan Leaf, Denver, Colorado, Mar 2016 [photo: owner Andrew Ganz]

Colorado moves to put more electric cars onto state roads faster

A state at the forefront of U.S. electric-vehicle adoption has set an ambitious goal of nearly 1 million plug-in electric cars on its roads by 2030. Colorado, which counted... read more January 25, 2018 by Mark Stevenson

Partnerships, incentives to get India to 2030 fossil-fuel vehicle ban

After announcing it would ban the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2030, the world's second-most populous country plans to support that goal through private and corporate... read more January 22, 2018 by Mark Stevenson

Could improving electric-car tax credit be possible even with today's politics?

Rather to the surprise of electric-car advocates, the massive tax bill passed by the U.S. Congress in December did not eliminate the federal tax credit for purchase of a... read more January 16, 2018 by John Voelcker