Since the current US administration eliminated federal EV tax credits, several states have implemented their own pro-EV measures, or beefed up existing programs.

In California, the administration of Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed to create a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which ended in 2023 and spent $1.49 billion to subsidize 586,000 vehicle purchases over a decade.

The proposed $200-million incentive program will be limited to first-time EV buyers, will include price caps adopted by Congress in 2022, and will require automakers to contribute matching funds. The incentive amounts and other key details have not yet been announced.

Officials from the California Air Resources Board recently met with representatives of the Detroit Three automakers to talk about the plans.

CARB would seem to be facing a tough audience. All three automakers recently cancelled flagship EV programs, causing them to write off a chunk of change in sunk costs (an estimated $19.5 billion at Ford, $6 billion at GM), and arguably sabotaging their long-term competitiveness in the global market. If, as some suspect, their real reason for turning down the voltage was to appease an anti-EV federal administration, then they may dare to support a new incentive program in California.

One might speculate that relations are a little frosty between California and Detroit at the moment. Automakers have been only too willing to cooperate with the US administration as it undid much of the progress made by the California Air Resources Board towards reducing air pollution over the last few years. Last September, Newsom harshly criticized GM, saying that CEO Mary Barra “sold us out.”

CARB told The Mercury News that it plans to hold a workshop in the spring that will “gather stakeholder input,” and that more details “will be finalized in the coming months.”

Sources: Reuters, The Mercury News