New Jersey residents looking to buy or lease an electric vehicle won’t be able to get a government rebate, at least temporarily, because the state program is so popular it’s already running out of money, officials said.
The Charge Up New Jersey program has disbursed an estimated $35 million for the fiscal year ending this July, according to the state’s Public Utilities Board. The board said Monday it was pausing the program because all allocated funding will soon be disbursed, based on the current pace of approving applications and orders for eligible vehicles.
Now in its third year, the program offers state residents up to $4,000 right away when they purchase or lease a new electric vehicle. On average, electric vehicles now cost more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, a price that is out of reach for many American households. Federal tax credits and other incentives are designed to lower prices and attract more buyers.
The New Jersey Public Utilities Board estimates the program will support the purchase or lease of more than 10,000 vehicles this fiscal year, and should be up and running once the new fiscal year begins on July 1. A Public Service Board spokesman, Peter Peretzman, said Tuesday he was unsure if there are plans to increase funding for the program for the next fiscal year.
The utility board estimates that the program, since its launch in May 2020, will have provided more than $90 million in incentives to lease or purchase nearly 25,000 electric vehicles.
By the end of 2022, there were more than 91,000 electric vehicles on the state’s roads, the board said, and electric vehicles accounted for 8 percent of all new car sales in New Jersey last year.
