Government subsidies/perks/mandates for EVs

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Norway to remove VAT exemption for pricey electric cars


The Norwegian Government followed up on plans to remove EV subsidies when it announced the revised budget this week. First to fall is the VAT exemption on electric cars costing more than 500,000 kroner (just under 49,000 euros) as of 1 January 2023.

The VAT for electric vehicles under the new scheme is dynamic, i.e. the more expensive an electric car is above this cap, the higher the VAT charge it incurs from next year. At the same time, Norway will launch a subsidy scheme to replace the VAT exemption.

“All-electric cars receive support at the bottom (of the price range), but the more expensive electric car you buy, the more VAT you have to pay,” Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum explained the measure. “Today, you can buy electric cars with a long range in all price ranges. We, therefore, believe that it is right that those who choose to buy the most expensive cars also pay some VAT to the community.”

The Norwegian paper The Local calculates that under the new subsidy scheme, buying an electric car with a price tag of more than 600,000 kroner will be charged VAT of 25,000 kroner, about 4%. Electric cars costing over one million kroner will incur 12.5 per cent VAT. Regular VAT in Norway is 25 per cent. . . .[

Plans to change the EV policies had made news a week ago since the Norwegian Ministry of Transport considered abolishing or reducing privileges for electric vehicles in taxes and tolls in larger cities. The government said it wants to push ahead with the traffic turnaround – and not simply replace combustion engines 1:1 with electric cars.

“It’s great that people use electric cars. But it’s not good if people get into their cars and drive to busy urban areas instead of walking, cycling or using public transport,” the Minister of Transport, Jon-Ivar Nygård, said at the time. . . ./quote]


and

https://electrek.co/2022/06/15/the-uk-scraps-its-1500-new-ev-grant-a-year-early-heres-why/

The UK scraps its £1,500 new EV grant a year early – Here’s why

The UK government’s £1,500 EV grants were discontinued yesterday, nearly a year earlier than planned.


The UK’s new EV grant is axed.
The UK Department for Transport announced that new EV grant funding will be shifted to support improving EV charging and funding “electric taxis, vans, trucks, motorcycles, and wheelchair accessible vehicles.”

The grant scheme, which first started in 2011, was reduced from £2,500 to £1,500 in December for EVs that cost under £32,000. (FYI, a Tesla Model 3 starts at £45,990.)

The scheme has helped increase the sales of EVs in the UK from less than 1,000 in 2011 to almost 100,000 in the first five months of 2022 alone.

Battery and hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) now make up more than half of all new cars sold and fully electric car sales have risen by 70% in the last year, now representing 1 in 6 new cars joining UK roads.

Here’s the reason the Department for Transport gave for its cancellation of the car grant scheme and the shift of its focus to charging and other electric vehicles. The British government basically says consumers no longer need the incentive to switch to electric:

The government has always been clear the plug-in car grant was temporary and previously confirmed funding until 2022-23. Successive reductions in the size of the grant, and the number of models it covers, have had little effect on rapidly accelerating sales or on the continuously growing range of models being manufactured. . . .

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‘No more excuses’ – New York announces new zero-emission vehicle mandate by 2035

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. . . In White Plains, New York, Governor Hochul outlined the state’s new ambitious clean energy and climate goals. The most important takeaway is all new vehicles sold in the state of New York will now need to be zero-emission by 2035, the same requirement that was set in California by the state’s new Advanced Clean Cars II regulation.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) predicts California’s new regulation will cut emissions by 50% between 2026 and 2040. Since it passed, 18 other states have followed in California’s footsteps, adopting California’s Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates, with New York being the most recent. . . .

New York outlines electric vehicle requirements and initiatives

By 2035, all new passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs sold in New York will be required to be zero-emission. To ensure they get there, the governor outlined specific benchmarks along the way.

The percent of new vehicle sales that need to be zero-emission will increase as the plan progresses, with 35% being required by 2026, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. . . .

To help buyers that may be on the fence about buying an electric vehicle, New York is charging ahead with several initiatives to help lower costs and provide accessible charging options.

Zero-emission vehicle grants – New York is providing $5.75 million for municipalities to purchase or lease zero-emission vehicles for their fleets and to install public EV charging stations.

NYSERDA Drive Clean Rebate – $10 million is being added to New York’s Drive Clean Rebate to help buyers purchase an EV with an up to $2,000 rebate available in all 62 counties that can be used with the federal tax credit provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

NYPA EVolve NY – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) just installed its 100th fast charger as part of the EVolve NY $250 million funding to build a state-wide fast charging network to accelerate electric vehicle adoption.

National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program – New York is receiving $175 million over the next five years from the federal NEVI program to establish an interconnected electric vehicle charging network. . . .

California established the regulations, making it easier for other states to follow suit. New York is not stopping at passenger vehicles either. The state is investing in electric school buses to keep children safe, electric transport buses to keep communities safe, and in industries you wouldn’t expect, like street sweepers!

New York City just surpassed 4,050 city-owned electric vehicles, hitting its goal three years ahead of schedule, showing the city is stepping up in a big way. . . .

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Electric vehicle tax credits and rebates available in the US, sorted by state

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Mayor of London expanding Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide; new £110M scrappage scheme

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (earlier post) London-wide. The expansion will come into effect on 29 August 2023 and will operate across all London boroughs up to the existing Low Emission Zone boundary for large and heavy vehicles.

On 8 April 2019 the Mayor of London launched the ULEZ in central London. In October 2021, the zone was expanded up to, but not including, the North and South Circular Roads. The ULEZ is now 18 times the size of the original area and covers 4 million people—more than a third of London’s population.

Vehicles must meet strict emission standards to drive in the ULEZ area:

Euro 4 for gasoline cars and vans (widely available since 2006)

Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans (widely available since 2016)

Euro 3 for motorcycles and mopeds (widely available since 2007)

Vehicles that do not meet the standards must pay a £12.50 daily charge

The ULEZ has already helped to reduce roadside pollution levels by 44% in central London and 20% in inner London. Expanding ULEZ London-wide is projected to save 27,000 tonnes of CO2 in outer London, nearly double that which the central London ULEZ achieved in its first year of operation. Among other improvements, the expansion is forecast to make further progress to reduce air pollution, by reducing NOx emissions from cars and vans in outer London by 10% and 7% respectively, and reducing PM2.5 car exhaust emissions in outer London by nearly 16%, benefitting five million outer London residents.

The expansion will be accompanied by a new £110-million (US$133-million) scrappage scheme to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, charities and small businesses and sole traders. Successful scrappage applicants will receive a grant to scrap or—for the first time—retrofit their vehicle for certain vans and minibuses. Successful car owners can opt to receive a smaller grant accompanied by up to two free annual bus and tram passes, which would give them a higher financial package.

The Mayor also announced new measures to support disabled people, including extending the existing exemption periods for London’s disabled drivers and community transport minibuses run by not-for-profit organizations to October 2027 and October 2025 respectively, and introducing new exemption periods for disabled drivers and wheelchair accessible vehicles.

This will mean that over a quarter of a million disabled Londoners could be eligible for the new exemption periods, including those who automatically qualify for a Blue Badge. The Mayor is providing further support through scrapping the fee for drivers to sign up to Auto-Pay for the ULEZ and Congestion Charge.

To maximize the potential benefits of expanding the ULEZ and strengthen alternatives to private cars, the Mayor also announced a plan for improving the bus network in outer London. Two new routes will be introduced in Sutton, with improved service to the new Cancer Hub at the Royal Marsden Hospital. In east London, new zero-emission cross-river services will be introduced, subject to consultation. This includes a new high-frequency, limited stop service between Grove Park and Canary Wharf, and an extension to route 129 (Lewisham – North Greenwich) north across the river to Great Eastern Quay via the Royal Docks.

New services and improvements, that will see more than one million further kilometers added to the bus network, are also planned to support growth areas in a number of other outer London location. This is part of the biggest ever expansion of the bus network in outer London.

The ULEZ is a very targeted scheme to get the most polluting vehicles off the road. Compliance within the current ULEZ area is now at 94%, much higher than the 39% when ULEZ was first announced in 2017, and also higher than 85% the month before previous expansion, and compliance in outer London is already around 85%. This means that most drivers in outer London will not be impacted by the expansion London-wide.

The evaluation survey of the Mayor’s Car and Motorcycle Scrappage Scheme shows it reduced vehicle ownership, with survey respondents also reporting a decrease in car travel and an increase in walking, cycling and public transport use. The report on the Mayor’s Scrappage Scheme shows that in addition to those who used the funds to purchase a ULEZ compliant vehicle, others used the money for greener transport options such as public transport, bikes and e-bikes and car clubs.

In order to support those who would like to use the money from the scrappage scheme for cleaner transport options, in addition to supporting those who want to put the funds towards public transport, bikes and e-bikes and car clubs, the Mayor’s new scrappage scheme will also include the option to get up to two annual bus and tram passes, and TfL is working with businesses to agree a range of offers on sustainable transport.

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California PUC adopts $1B EV charging program

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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently adopted a five-year, statewide, $1-billion transportation electrification program. The decision provides a unified policy-driven funding structure for utility transportation electrification efforts through 2030, and prioritizes investments in charging infrastructure for low-income, tribal, and underserved utility customers.

Under the decision, 70% of the funds will go towards charging for medium-and heavy-duty vehicles, which are responsible for a disproportionate share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants from the transportation sector, and 30% will go towards light-duty charging at or near multi-unit dwellings.

The program offers rebates for customer-side (“behind-the-meter”) EV infrastructure investments at commercial, industrial, and residential sites beginning in 2025 and provides higher rebates for projects in underserved, disadvantaged, and tribal communities to ensure charging infrastructure reaches these hard-to-reach communities.

This action resolves the transportation policy framework that has been in development since 2020. The decision also furthers the integration of EVs as an energy resource that can help meet the needs of the grid by developing a strategy for promoting vehicle-grid integration.

To ensure the program continues to meet policy goals and meets equity targets, the decision directs the investor-owned utilities to host annual roundtables and workshops to discuss potential program modifications with stakeholders and CPUC staff.

The CPUC is undertaking multiple efforts to promote EV adoption and infrastructure, including adopting rules to ensure that customers installing EV chargers do not have to wait unreasonable times to interconnect to the grid. In the proceeding to modernize the electric grid for a high distributed energy resources future, the CPUC is overseeing the investor-owned utilities’ plans to upgrade the distribution grid to meet the new load EV charging will create.

Additionally, the CPUC’s Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) proceeding, which ensures sufficient electric generation and transmission capacity to meet reliability and GHG reduction goals, is planning for increasingly high penetrations of electric vehicles to guide procurement and infrastructure decisions.

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