A new report from the United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that a big milestone has been reached this year in America’s federal EV tax credit program. Since January 1st, 2024, Americans have saved over $2 billion in upfront costs on their purchases of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The report credits the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law on August 16th, 2022. The bill invests $12 billion in electric vehicle incentives and extends the federal EV tax credits that were already in place, which amount to up to $7,500 for a new EV and $4,000 toward a used EV. The bill also modified incentives for PHEVs, which now need a battery capacity of at least 7 kWh rather than 4 kWh to qualify.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act is lowering upfront costs for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, saving Americans more than $2 billion since January. These savings are giving consumers new choices and helping automakers and dealers to attract new customers and grow their businesses,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement. “Consumers will save an average of $21,000 on fuel and maintenance over the lifetime of their vehicles and be protected from the volatility of gasoline prices.”
The $21,000 figure comes from an Energy Innovation: Policy & Technology report that estimates that the average EV owner will save between $18,000 and $24,000 over a car’s 15-year lifespan compared to operating a comparable ICE-powered vehicle, largely from fuel savings. The same report estimates that EV maintenance costs are 40 percent cheaper than the maintenance of an ICE vehicle.
While most analysts agree that routine maintenance costs and overall operating costs are lower for EVs than they are for ICE vehicles, a report from Mitchell earlier this year said collision repair costs are higher for EVs by a factor of 29 percent in the U.S. and 33 percent in Canada. Further, rental car company Hertz cited high repair costs as a reason for reducing its EV fleet in early 2024.
Out of all of the GM EVs available in the U.S. right now, three are available for the full federal EV tax credit: the Chevy Equinox EV, Chevy Blazer EV, and Cadillac Lyriq. The 2025 Cadillac Optiq and 2025 Chevy Silverado EV examples priced under the $80,000 MSRP limit will also be eligible for the tax credit.
Comments
They need to stop this nonsense NOW. Really helps with the deficit, among other things, NOT.
Oh? After He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named added $7 trillion to it we suddenly care about deficits? Doubtful.
Ahodie says it’s always someone else’s fault…always.
Dems forget about the deficit until a Republican talks about tax cuts. After that its “Deficit? What’s that? Forgive more student loans.”
Good news.
For the good of the planet let’s reduce ICE emissions. Our survival depends on it.
Oil is mostly gone by 2050. If not your own health, start thinking of life for the younger generations.
“…start thinking of life for the younger generations”
I agree! Pull your money and retirement funds from the WEF/large hedge funds who have stated that their goal is to own everything and force younger generations to rent, lease, or subscribe to everything that they plan to own. If we can’t own anything, we can’t build our own wealth. We’ll be stuck on their treadmill forever.
I remember in the early ’80s being told we would be out of oil by the year 2000 and that we are heading towards an ice age. They showed us fearmongering movies in JR. High about it. I found them rather comical.
We do need to be mindful of how we treat the environment but the fearmongering is getting old.
The garbage they put in our food is probably more detrimental to our heath.
If you think oil is going to be entirely gone by 2050 I have a bridge to sell you. The same radicals pushing us to electric cars aren’t even considering electrifying the rest of the NJ Transit lines which still use diesel fumes pumping locomotives. Now each time I commute into the city I contribute to more emissions than if I drove my EV in.
And I am not even talking about the new power plants being built using natural gas (still a fossil fuel) when these plants should be going nuclear. But the same lefties don’t want to use nuclear because they don’t want a “Hiroshima” in their backyards.
As you say, natural gas is still a fossil fuel, but it is better than burning tons of coal. I just read last week whereas England was a very early user of coal in huge quantities for heating their homes and running their power plants, they just closed their last coal burning power plant. The oil and natural gas companies have such a stranglehold on the markets that we will creep along at a snails pace in trying to get off our fossil fuel addition. You are correct about the fear that’s been perpetrated by those that have heard of 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl. No one ever mentions all the nuclear subs and air craft carriers, operating safely, that ply the oceans. The nuclear power plant that is in the Ukraine is the largest in all of Europe and was generating 1/5 of Ukraine’s electricity in 2020. How many hurricanes like Helene and and unbearable temperatures such as out in the West must we endure before we get real about doing something about climate modification. One thing all could do is to bite the bullet and start driving either plugin hybrids (PHEVs) or EVs.
You’re welcome.
Nobody saved anything. $2B of wealth was transferred from the American taxpayers to EV buyers which, in turn, went to the automobile manufacturers. It is a scheme to have all Americans subsidize a product that the vast majority is not interested in. It is $2B in theft.
“$2B of wealth was transferred from the American taxpayers to EV buyers which, in turn, went to the automobile manufacturers”… which in turn went to Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street, mainly.
Exactly correct. The entire EV subsidy program is a scam on the American taxpayer.
This comments section is renewing my faith in humanity.
Faith in humanity has always been there, it’s just not important for the MSM’s agenda or financial gains, so it gets buried in death, destruction, and hatred. Those things sell!
Headline should have been:
“U.S. Taxpayers on the hook for an additional $2 Billion In EV Buyers Tax Credits So Far This Year”
People who can afford EV’s shouldn’t be given tax credits on the backs of taxpayers who are having great difficulty with buying food, keeping a roof over their head and who couldn’t even think about buying a $100K vehicle. That very concept is an insult and an obscenity.
Last November, 2023, I purchase a new Chevy Bolt EUV with SuperCruise. I have to say that there is not a day that passes where I don’t feel the need to I pinch myself when driving this car. Such a nice car. It is quite fast. Amazing off-the-line acceleration. I love the fact that while the car is attractive, it doesn’t scream look-at-me-cop. The look is nice-slow-econobox. Bwa-ha-HA! They don’t look up from their glazed doughnuts and coffee. I woosh by quietly. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
And when I am not in a hurry, it has a very smooth and quiet ride. And in stop and go traffic on the freeway, the SuperCruise really excels. Press the button. Wait for a green light. Then I remove my hands from the wheel. Even today, I am still so very impressed by the technology. It drives, centered in the lane. No herky-jerky adjustments. Just smoothness. AND while the large, touchscreen graphics are super crisp, I was absolutely sold on the fact that car, overall, feels NORMAL. The dashboard has real buttons. You don’t feel like you are in pre-launch at Pad 39-A. Plus, it has a panoramic sunroof, and it opens.
Now with all of that gushing done, here’s the rub. When I have friends and coworkers tell me that they are looking into buying an EV, my very first question is, do you own or rent your place? If they rent, I ask if they have dependable, dedicated access a garage on the property.
The biggest Achilles heel for EVs is the rate of re-charge. It really does require a dedicated, overnight charging station. Not necessarily every night, but often (once a week for my car). Until solid state batteries are ready for prime-time we are stuck with the current car battery technology. To keep recharging costs down, you really need access to overnight recharging.
There is definitely upside to overnight charging. First on my list is not having to waste time at the gas station. I pull up to my garage and plug in when it needs it. That takes a few seconds of my time and I am moving on into the house.
In the morning, I hit the start button on the remote. If it is Winter, the car starts warming up the steering wheel, the front seat and the cabin air. And since it is plugged in, that energy comes from the charger. Not the battery. In the Summer the seat and cabin are cooled.
When I am ready to leave I unplug and hang the cable. So my time involved directly in charging the car is seconds. Versus before, with a gas car, I spent five to ten minutes baby sitting the pump, and breathing in all of the fumes. BTW, unless you rig up an exhaust pipe, you can’t start up a gas powered car in the garage.
But there’s that word again: garage. Unless you have access to a dedicated parking spot, with at least a 110v 20amp outlet, you really have no business owning one. It will be a less than an optimal ownership experience.
Good news! Two days ago, I recharged my Bolt at a Tesla SuperCharger. That was an awesome moment. Now it is possible to confidently drive cross-country. I have done some overnight road trips and I don’t mind the little bit of extra planning that goes into selecting a hotel that has a set of Level 2 chargers. My experience: the charge is free (well, it is included in the price of the room) and the battery returns to 100% charge though the overnight process.
Think about it… that is just like 250 miles of free gas. When was the last time I saw a hotel give out a gift certificate to go fill up at a local gas station: uh, never.
So for all of the doubters out there. Your gas is on borrowed time. Once a battery powered car can charge from empty to full in under ten minutes, gas will be toast. The EV ownership experience is so much nicer. Quiet. Exhilaratingly fast. Gobs and gobs of wonderful, near silent, off-the-line torque.
What a wonderful car! Thank you Chevy engineers. You’ve done well by the Bolt. With what I know now about my Bolt, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat.
I wonder if that hotel gives out gas cards to guests who prefer iced tea to Kool-Aid. Or if they quietly strong-arm those ppl into paying to recharge your Bolt with no benefit to them.
And I haven’t gotten a single thank you from anyone for my hard earned tax dollars they received! Sheesh!