If you are interested in purchasing an electric vehicle, but are still on the fence with your decision, you may have more time to consider it before you plunge. Legislation is in the works that may allow more EV buyers to be eligible for government tax credits.
President Obama plans on having 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, and during his State of the Union address, he urged Congress to help him pursue those goals. U.S. Representative Sandy Levin heeded the President’s call by introducing legislation to permit the first 500,000 electric vehicles sold by an automaker to be able to gain tax credits up to $7,500.
Currently, the amount of vehicles eligible is 200,000, which seems like a lofty number until you consider that even in trying times, the American car market moves about a million cars per-month. These incentives are very important for electric vehicle acceptance, and make the purchase of an electric car much more affordable for the average person. The Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV is priced at $41,000 before any tax credit, but comes down to a much more reasonable $33,500 after the credit. With GM hoping to sell 25,000 Volts this year, and 120,000 Volts next year, the tax credit for this car will quickly run out without an extension of the program.
However, at a cost of $3,750,000,000 ($3.75 billion) per electric vehicle, it could be a hard sell at a time when many Americans are calling for less government spending. With every major automaker planning on releasing an electric car in the next few years, will these incentives be enough to make it to Obama’s goal of one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015?
Source: USA Today