A Washington state program to get lower-income drivers into electric vehicles is proving more popular than expected, with more than half of the available funding already deployed less than 60 days since it launched.
More than 3,300 state residents have participated in the EV Instant Rebate Program, which can cut the cost of leasing or owning an EV to as low as $100 per month.
Participation in the program is three-times higher than expected, and it’s anticipated to run out of cash in October. The effort started with $45 million allocated from the state’s general fund.
Officials with the Washington State Department of Commerce said the secret to the program’s success is the ability to apply the rebates to car leases — an approach pursued by two-thirds of the participants.
“Washington is the first state to prioritize low-cost leases as part of an EV incentive program,” said Michael Furze, assistant director of the department’s energy division.
Other data points from the program:
- The average rebate so far is $7,292.
- The average rebate recipient is a household earning $51,975 annually.
- 90% of participants said they could not have afforded an EV without the rebate.
Washington leaders have for years pushed for EV adoption. The state will require all new vehicles sold to be zero carbon emissions by 2035, including passenger cars, light-duty vehicles, and medium-duty vehicles such as larger pick-up trucks and SUVs.
But while the program is working as planned, critics say there are more cost-effective ways to get comparable benefits for the climate. Todd Myers, vice president for research at Washington Policy Center, a conservative think tank, suggests that certified carbon offsets — programs that pay others to make carbon-cutting investments — would be a smarter strategy.
Commerce has done its own calculations on the impact of the rebate program, and said that over five years there will be $2.84 in benefits for every $1 spent. The benefits come from the social cost of avoided carbon emissions, including better health outcomes; fuel savings from switching to electric; and vehicle cost savings now and in the future when leased vehicles enter the used EV market.
The rebates are only available to Washington residents and the terms include:
- Income eligibility is determined by household size. For example, the cut off is $45,180 a year for a single person or $93,600 for a family of four.
- New EVs are eligible for a $5,000 rebate for a purchase or two-year lease, or $9,000 for a lease of three years or longer.
- Used EVs are eligible for a $2,500 rebate for purchases and leases of two years or longer.
- The deal applies to vehicles priced at $90,000 or less.
- There are additional discounts for state sales tax and federal tax rebates, depending on the vehicle’s price and automaker.
Dollars for the rebates come from the state general fund’s Electric Vehicle Incentive Account, a pot of money created two years ago. There is still $65 million in the account. The decision to spend the funds must be appropriated by the Legislature.
The state expects to issue 6,000 total rebates before the current funds run out.
“Vehicles are rolling out of dealerships so much faster than we expected,” Commerce Director Mike Fong said in a statement. “Drivers wanting to take advantage of the program should act within the next month before funds run out.”
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