New electric vehicle rebates are expected to be available in Massachusetts by early summer, about nine months after lawmakers passed a bill calling for the incentives to be implemented immediately.
The state has said funding and logistical hurdles have delayed the rollout of the new provisions, which will add higher incentives for low-income car buyers, create a rebate for buying used electric vehicles and establish a system to offer discounts on the spot. of sale, reducing the initial cost of the vehicle.
Advocates have understood the complications with rolling out these provisions, but are eager for the new components to take effect.
“I’m sympathetic, but if we’re not going to meet our climate goals, our climate requirements, we really need them to come online as soon as possible,” said Kyle Murray, director of the Massachusetts program at the Acadia Center. profit
Massachusetts has ambitious goals to reduce its transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. The state’s clean energy and climate plan sets a goal of reducing vehicle emissions by 86% from 1990 levels by 2050. One of the main strategies to get there is greater vehicle adoption Electric: The plan calls for every new vehicle sold in the state to be electric by 2035. The state has also set a goal of having 900,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030.
With these goals in mind, the state’s EV incentives have long been considered among the best in the country. The Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Rebates, or MOR-EV, program was launched in 2014, offering $2,500 in rebates on eligible purchases or leases. For a while, discounts dropped to $1,500 due to funding issues, before returning to their original level in 2020.
The climate law passed in 2022 called for expanding these incentives in several ways. The base allowance was increased to $3,500 and the price cap on eligible vehicles was raised to $55,000, changes that have already been implemented. Other changes have been more difficult to implement.
Although the law authorizing the program was passed in August 2022, the Legislature did not provide any additional funding until November.
“The administration was kind of handcuffed because they couldn’t establish a program that they weren’t sure they had the money for,” Murray said.
At the same time, implementing the new provisions required enough updates to the program’s software that the state had to issue a call for proposals from vendors to handle the changes. In March, the state chose to continue working with the existing provider, the Center for Sustainable Energy, and the final design of the program is already underway with the first components to be rolled out this summer, according to information from the Department of Energy resources of the state.
“I expect a July 1 rollout of all the new features that the program requires to meet the legislative intent,” said state Sen. Michael Barrett, a sponsor of the 2022 climate bill.
A new rebate will provide an additional $1,500 to low-income residents who buy or lease a qualifying vehicle, though the state is still determining details, including what income levels will be eligible and how income will be verified. A used car allowance and an enhanced allowance for consumers trading in an internal combustion engine vehicle are also expected this summer, although again details have yet to be released.
While advocates have generally expressed understanding about the lengthy implementation process, this lingering uncertainty has also frustrated some.
“This lack of specificity makes it very difficult to help people figure out which car to buy when,” said Anna Vanderspek, director of the Green Energy Consumer Alliance’s electric vehicle program. “Overall, we wish they had moved faster and been clearer about what changes were coming when.”
A major remaining uncertainty is whether the new provisions will be effective retroactively, given the delays in implementation. Barrett is a staunch proponent of retroactive rebates.
“Last year we passed a new law with an immediate effective date,” he said. “I think consumers had a right to rely on the statute that we wrote.”
Vanderspek, however, doesn’t like the idea of ​​retroactivity. Anyone who bought an electric vehicle since last August clearly didn’t need the state-sponsored financial incentive to do so, he noted. It makes more sense to use the finite pot of rebate money to help nudge new consumers toward clean vehicles, rather than paying for cars already on the road, he said.
Whatever form the new provisions take, a variety of factors beyond the state’s control will also affect how quickly EV adoption accelerates. Shortages in the supply chain have made acquiring electric vehicles difficult for eager buyers. A generous $7,500 federal incentive in the Inflation Reduction Act sparked optimism, but the Treasury Department announced last week that only 14 models are eligible for that tax credit.
Still, Murray is confident that the combination of public sentiment, state incentives and federal tax credits will soon make a measurable difference.
“We’re definitely going to see it really start to ramp up,” he said.
