California is leading the nation in clean vehicle adoption with more than a quarter-million electric cars on its roadways as of December 2016. This shift away from gasoline- and diesel-fueled cars brings numerous environmental and economic benefits, including less air pollution and reduced GHG emissions.
The State’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP), which is now primarily supported by Cap-and-Trade dollars, promotes clean vehicle adoption by offering rebates of up to $7,000 for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. Eligible California residents can follow a simple process to apply for a CVRP rebate after purchasing or leasing an eligible vehicle.
And many do.
Since 2010, CVRP has issued more than $377 million in rebates for more than 175,000 vehicles, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy, which administers CVRP for ARB.
Hector Coronel of San Diego, who leased a Nissan Leaf, was happy with the process.
Hector Coronel of San Diego, who leased a Nissan Leaf, was happy with the process. “It’s a great program and I sincerely hope that it continues,” he told the Center for Sustainable Energy. “It's great for the environment and we even got solar panels put on our house to help with powering our new Nissan Leaf. We all need to do our part in keeping our California air cleaner.”
This statewide program is available on a first-come, first-served basis for new eligible clean cars. And to make clean vehicles more accessible to a greater number of California drivers in communities most impacted by air pollution, lower-income consumers (with household incomes of less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level) are eligible for an increased rebate amount.
More than 11,000 rebates have been issued to individuals who live within a disadvantaged community. These investments are designed to help lower-income residents in areas of California affected most by air pollution afford the cleanest cars.