The Alliance for Automotive Innovation on Tuesday applauded a new incentive plan for EVs in California.
The collaboration between the California Air Resources Board and the state's electric utilities offers consumers up to $1,500 up front for the purchase or lease of eligible new battery-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles from a participating auto retailer.
The California Clean Fuel Reward program launched Tuesday and will help support Gov. Gavin Newsom's ambitious move to stop the sale of new passenger cars and trucks with internal combustion engines by 2035. The plan aims to transition California away from fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the state's air regulators said.
The incentive is included in the transaction at the point of sale and can be combined with other post-sale federal, state and local incentives such as the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Clean Cars 4 All and the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program.
Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles must have a battery capacity of 5 kilowatt-hours or greater to be eligible. Those vehicles include the 2021 model year Audi e-tron, Tesla Model 3 and Ford Mustang Mach-E — all of which provide consumers with the highest reward amount of $1,500.
The alliance, which represents most major automakers in the U.S, said the price reductions are in line with the group's "vision for a cleaner, safer and smarter future for the auto industry."
"This type of point-of-sale price reduction helps ease the path for widespread electric vehicle adoption," alliance CEO John Bozzella said in a statement. "We applaud the California Air Resources Board for bringing stakeholders together to develop a nontaxpayer funded program that provides up to $1,500 to encourage any Californian to choose electric."
Bozzella added: "This sort of collaborative effort to incentivize the adoption of low-carbon technologies is a win for California consumers, the environment, dealers and automakers pushing to create a cleaner, safer and smarter future."
