California utility SCE offers $450 rebate for new and used electric cars

2015 Nissan Leaf with CHAdeMO fast-charging cable plugged in  [photo John Briggs]California already offers generous incentives to get consumers into electric vehicles, but now the electric utility Southern California Edison has joined in. SCE has announced what it calls the Clean Fuel Rewards Program to offer a $450 purchase rebate for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners. The utility company isn't limiting the...

Romania doubles electric-car subsidies, adds ‘cash for clunkers’ program

Cash for Clunkers banner with Mercury Sable, Albany, New YorkIn recent years, governments have increasingly worked to encourage the sales of plug-in electric vehicles. Incentive programs for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle have been adopted across the world. The amounts granted and the mechanisms vary according to the individual program, but the goal is the same: reduce emissions. DON’T MISS...

Oregon mulls bonuses for salespeople who sell electric cars

Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]The Beaver State, otherwise known as Oregon, may implement an intriguing solution to spur higher sales of electric vehicles. A new piece of legislation introduced in the state senate calls for a $1 million fund to provide $250 bonuses to salespeople each time they sell an electric vehicle, according to Charged. The bill would, however, exempt...

Ending tax credits would kill electric-car market, Edmunds says

2017 Nissan Leaf  The electric-car market may be in for a serious downturn when current federal tax incentives end, assuming the Trump administration declines to extend them, according to a new analysis. In 2010, the government began offering tax credits of $2,500 to $7,500 to the first 200,000 U.S. buyers of plug-in electric vehicles from each automaker. Those...

Why electric bikes may deserve purchase incentives too

Smart ebike electric bicycleIf plug-in electric cars and trucks receive purchase incentives from national and state governments, what about electric bicycles? That's just what a recent report from the European Cyclists Federation suggests. It recommends directing purchase incentives and infrastructure subsidies towards electrically assisted bicycles, known as e-bikes...

Hong Kong closed a tax loophole; is Tesla ancillary damage?

First Tesla Model S delivered in Hong KongGovernment officials in Hong Kong have eliminated a popular tax exemption that made electric vehicles much cheaper to buy than comparable gasoline-powered models. Now Tesla worries it could take the brunt of the blowback. The loophole helped make Hong Kong one of the biggest overseas markets for the Silicon Valley carmaker's luxury electric cars...

How to pay most of a million bucks to use the carpool lane in Florida

2015 Porsche 918 SpyderSome people will do anything to avoid a little traffic. Like many other states, Florida offers drivers of greener cars solo access to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes, also known as carpool lanes. That privilege is extended to hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric cars. DON'T MISS: Porsche 918 Plug-In Hybrid Supercar Ends Production After...