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Electric Vehicles Welcome Pack Red Tesla Windmill
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Electric Car Incentives In California For 2024

INCLUDING Clean Cars 4 All, electric car incentives for low and moderate income Californians and other California EV incentives

The Clean Vehicle Rebate Program in California offered a huge incentive to drive an EV – but it’s not the only one.

Effective November 8, 2023, CVRP was closed to new applications.

While the California rebate for electric cars is currently not accepting new applications, there are many other statewide and local incentives to driving EVs.

The federal EV tax credit was also expanded in 2024 - up to $7,500 could be available to help you afford an EV.

Use our guide below to learn about the rebate program and other electric car incentives in California. 

 

The California EV Rebate Overview


One of the biggest EV incentives in California was the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. Since 2010, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project helped get almost 600,000 clean vehicles on the road in California.

All funding for CVRP has been reserved. Applications submitted on or after September 6, 2023, were placed on a standby list and new applications were not accepted after November 8, 2023. 

The standard rebate for most Californians for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle was $2,000. And if your household income was less than or equal to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, the EV rebate increased up to $5,500 over the general rebate.

Read below to learn about other EV incentives in California.

 
 
Looking to Save Money on an EV?

While the EV Rebate in California is not currently available, our nonprofit has collected some of the best resources on purchasing or leasing an EV and put them into an easy-to-use cheat sheet.

It's a must read for people considering an EV.

Simply enter your email to access the Purchasing An EV Cheat Sheet as well as sign up for other EV news and inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.

 
 
 

EVs Are Affordable With Or Without Incentives


The incentives we cover below certainly help, but many EVs already cost less than equivalent gas cars over their lifetimes due to cheaper fuel and less maintenance. Per mile, electricity is already ⅓ to ½ the cost of gasoline.

And EV lease deals in California can be very affordable — many for $9 or $10/day.

You can charge EVs at home overnight and even find free EV charging stations near you. And just think about how great it will be to never have to go to a gas station again.

So tell your family and friends in California – more people should be driving EVs!

 

Clean Air Vehicle Sticker In CA


A great statewide incentive is the Clean Air Vehicle sticker. This sticker lets you use HOV lanes regardless of the number of occupants in the vehicle. Your vehicle is also then eligible for reduced rates or exemptions from toll charges for HOT lanes.

 

Incentives for Low and Moderate Income Californians


While the CVRP increased rebate is not currently available, there are other local incentives for income-qualifying Californians.

Clean Cars 4 All

If you have an older vehicle to trade in, four California areas participate in different versions of a program called Clean Cars 4 All.

It is intended for low-income residents within and near disadvantaged communities of the San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, Bay Area, and Sacramento air districts.

These programs give funding to replace older polluting cars with clean electric vehicles. In each of the four programs, you can get up to $9,500.

You can learn more if you are located in these 4 areas:

There are also updates coming soon. San Diego is becoming the fifth area with a CC4A program. LA is increasing the highest amount to $12,000.

Cash For Clunkers 2024 In California

If you live outside of the above areas, but are still hoping to electrify your ride, there are proposals to expand this into a statewide program.

Not only that, but the current Cash for Clunkers program can help. Simply trade in an older, polluting vehicle for cash -- which you can then put towards a new ride!

The Clean Vehicle Assistance Program

You could also qualify for a loan or grant from the Clean Vehicle Assistance Program.

  • Their goal is to provide “grants and affordable financing to help income-qualified Californians purchase or lease a new or used hybrid or electric vehicle” – they basically provide grants and loans.
  • You need to get approved before you purchase your vehicle.
  • For the grants: when program requirements are met, grants do not need to be repaid.
  • It can also include a home charging station with installation support.

Learn more about eligibility.

There are also low-income household discounts of 18% to 20% on your household electric bill through the CARE and FERA programs that can help with vehicle charging. You can enroll here if you have not already.

 

How To Find California Local EV Incentives


Drive Clean CA.gov is a great place to search for EV incentives by zip code in California

You can also search by zip code on plugstar to cross-reference against your Drive Clean search.

Further EV incentives can include more rebates such as:

 
Download the Ultimate EV Home Charging Cheat Sheet

We put together this free cheat sheet to help people learn about EV charging and how to purchase the right home charger. Simply enter your email to access the cheat sheet as well as sign up for other EV news and inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.

 

The EV Home Charging Cheat Sheet is brought to you completely free of charge by Coltura, an award-winning nonprofit.

 

Don’t Forget About The Federal Electric Vehicle Credit In 2024


You might also qualify for up to a $7,500 tax credit from the federal government for purchasing a new EV.

Beginning in 2024, eligible buyers of eligible electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids will receive the tax credit at the time of purchase as an “on the hood” discount. There's no longer a need to wait to take the credit at the time of tax filing. On top of this, in 2024 taxpayers who don’t owe enough tax to be offset by the credit will still be eligible for the full $7,500 credit. 

There’s also a new federal tax credit for USED EVs priced up to $25,000. The discount is up to $4,000 or 30% of vehicle cost, whichever is lower.

Combined with the CA incentives, your savings could be huge.

Get more info on the Electric Vehicle Federal Tax Credit.

 

Why Are There EV Incentives In California?


There are several reasons why California offers incentives to replace fossil fuel cars with EVs.

California continues to have some of the worst air quality in the country. For 2019, 2020 and 2021, of the eleven US counties with the worst combined short-term particle pollution, ozone, and long-term particle pollution levels, ten were in California. One in three Californians live in areas with unhealthy air.

California cities claim the top four spots of U.S. cities with the most Particulate matter. And in terms of ozone pollution, Los Angeles is the most polluted city in the nation, just as it has been for 23 of the last 24 years. Much of this is caused by the ozone (smog) and particle pollution from vehicle emissions.

California is also committed to making the switch from gasoline to electric to meet its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

On top of this, California is one of the 16 states that participate in the ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicles) Program, which requires that automakers ensure that a certain percent of all vehicles they sell in the state are ZEVs (ZEVs are mostly electric vehicles, but can also be hydrogen fuel cell vehicles). Because of recent regulation, by 2026, all automakers must have at least 35% ZEV sales.

So be sure to take advantage of incentives. By driving an EV instead of a gasoline-powered car, you’re doing a service for the environment and the health of other Californians.

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California EV Tax Credits & Incentives Conclusion

 
 

By driving an EV, you’re keeping our air cleaner and our climate healthier. You’re benefiting other Californians. You deserve to take advantage of these incentives and feel great about driving your EV.

 

Do You Want Less Vehicle Pollution?

So do we.

Our nonprofit is laser-focused on reducing gasoline use as quickly as possible.

We invite you to consider supporting our efforts to move the country beyond gasoline.

Take the next step! Sign up to get electric vehicle news, inspiration and info about political action from Coltura, a nonprofit fighting to move beyond gasoline to cleaner alternatives like EVs.

 
Electric Car Incentives In California In 2024
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