California adding new category to fleet hybrid incentive program; Ford Transit Connect Electric would be eligible for up to $15,000 state incentive
16 October 2011
California will a new category to its HVIP (Hybrid Incentive Voucher Program) that covers light-duty zero-emissions commercial vehicles (between 5,001 and 8,500 lbs GVWR)—e.g., the Ford Transit Connect Electric—in November, according to an email from Chris Abarca, Director of Sales, West for Azure Dynamics (partner with Ford on the Transit Connect Electric). Vouchers for the category will reach up to $15,000 for a fleet’s first voucher, with $12,000 thereafter for the remainder of FY 2010-11.
Proposed FT 2011-12 HVIP voucher amounts (starting in February 2012) move to:
- $10,000 per vehicle for the first 30 vouchers (the first 3 vehicles are eligible for an additional $2,000)
- $8,000 per voucher for 31-65 vouchers
- $6,000 per voucher for 66 to 100 vouchers
The HVIP program utilizes AB 118 Air Quality Improvement Funding to assist fleets to migrate from ICE vehicles to electric and hybrids. These funds are available to any fleet public (Federal, State, Local) or private that register the vehicles in California. These incentives, along with the $7,500 Federal EV Tax Credit, will bring the ROI down to 2.5 years at current fuel prices, Abarca noted in his email.
Currently, the HVIP voucher categories start at 8,501–10,000 lbs GVWR, with a plug-in hybrid eligible for a base incentive of $10,000 and a zero emission vehicle in that weight category eligible for a base incentive of $15,000.
That would make the Renault Kangoo ZE around $13,000, plus $123/month for 12,400 miles/year!
Something tells me California would not be keen on giving the subsidy to Froggie vehicles!;-)
Posted by: Davemart | 16 October 2011 at 05:06 AM
Token Air Quality Improvement at high cost (but only if one assumes cost matters).
Posted by: ToppaTom | 16 October 2011 at 06:15 AM
Forget the Air Quality issue - let's consider the value of building PH/EV fleets that will encourage further public adoption. Each fleet PH/EV on the road is advertising for efficacy of electrified transport. That's a good thing. Cali should be congratulated on taking a step down the fleet EV path.
And it won't hurt air quality in Cali either.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 16 October 2011 at 07:43 AM
An electric vehicle is 3 to 5 times more efficient than our current average 22.1 mpg gas guzzlers. That alone justifies the subsidy, regardless of where it is built. Even GM will build their e-cars in South Korea. We have priced ourselves out of the car manufacturing market. We have to live with the consequences, i.e. 20,000,000 + unemployed and more to come.
Viva our unemployed union members an poor workmanship.
Posted by: HarveyD | 16 October 2011 at 08:51 AM
More to the point, the fraction of electricity generated from oil in the continental USA is close to zero. Every mile powered by grid electricity is a switch from imported to domestic energy.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 16 October 2011 at 09:28 AM
Our electricity is currently about 95% clean local Hydro, 2% local Nuke and 3% local Wind. Our sole nuclear CANDU plant is getting old may be replaced by wind turbines very shortly. Four more large Hydro plants plus dozens of small ones are currently being built together with a few hundred new larger wind turbines. The six local aluminium plants have increased their output and need more low cost clean electricity. The energy saving program has saved enough energy in the last 5 years to operate one BEV per family. The new power plants will be enough for 3 BEVs per family plus some exports.
Affordable BEVs with 85 + Kwh modular battery packs are needed to replace our ICE gas guzzlers and to stop importing (Brent) oil at $117/barrel.
Meanwhile, a Prius III seems to be one of the best interim solution.
Posted by: HarveyD | 16 October 2011 at 10:27 AM
I certainly wish them well but I don't understand where they are coming up with all this money when they are on the steps of bankrupcy. I'm afraid the rest of the country will be asked to bailout Calif. eventually.
Posted by: Jimr | 17 October 2011 at 06:53 AM
We should all read Ronald Wright's (What is America) and (A short History of Progress) to start to understand what we (and the world) will be facing very shortly.
The current worldwide demonstrations are just the start of it. The next correction may be a lot bigger than the e-car evolution. Smart leaders will be required to fix what has been neglected for decades.
Posted by: HarveyD | 17 October 2011 at 08:52 AM
A major step is coming next month when the fact of excess heat energy systems (Blacklight and Rossi) can no longer be ignored. Once LENR CPU systems start coming out of local manufacturing - the entire global energy paradigm shifts.
Centralized power structures will collapse. Fossil fuel assets will become worthless. A whole new manufacturing sector will open to build, install and service LENR-based appliances, UPS, micro-grids, light industrial CHPC, automotive energy packs, etc.
Gone will be old school grids, power plants, transmission systems, and even renewable wind farms not able to compete with distributed power. Millions who have lived without light or clean water, will have it. The world will be illuminated universally.
Change is good.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 17 October 2011 at 01:09 PM
And then Reel awoke from his opium-induced dream, and found reality staring him in the face with a smirk.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 17 October 2011 at 06:59 PM
Apparently the US government disagrees EP. Here is the prelim disclose to Wall Street:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markgibbs/2011/10/17/hello-cheap-energy-hello-brave-new-world/
bye bye old school...
Posted by: Reel$$ | 18 October 2011 at 07:13 PM
A Forbes blog site. Nothing endorsed by the magazine, let alone real scientists or money people. And Gibbs himself hedges with "If this device works as claimed...."
Yawn. Wake me up when it doesn't look like a replay of the cow magnets scam, okay?
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 18 October 2011 at 08:11 PM
Reel$$ may be sleeping for many decades or centuries. Meanwhile domestic e-energy generation and storage may have surprising growth in niche markets or where much lower cost gird power is not readily available. I don't see it over the horizon as long as we have plenty of clean very low cost Hydro/Wind power.
Major re-designed financial regulations/tax equity to better distribute wealth and better share public services cost may (have to) be here before Rossi's gadget. Otherwise, no single golden gadget will help our continued steep structural economic downturn.
Posted by: HarveyD | 19 October 2011 at 12:43 PM
Cow magnets scam? How'd I miss that.
Harvey, finance regulations have nothing to do with the introduction of excess heat energy. Except, utilities that do not adapt rapidly will end up like oilcos - with no customers.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 19 October 2011 at 01:07 PM
Reel$$...producing 100 + times the clean e-energy the world currently consumes or really needs is not that great a challenge as long as the Sun, Wind, waves, water falls, etc (and us) are still around.
Burning various feed stocks is becoming more and more outdated and is progressively being regulated and outlawed. The future is towards electrification of all transportation vehicles, industries, commercial and domestic buildings etc.
Using polluting limited fossil fuels to produce electricity will also become outdated sooner or latter.
Posted by: HarveyD | 19 October 2011 at 04:38 PM
Agreed Harvey. This is simply utilizing parts of the solar process still not understood. It is as natural as the Sun and stars.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 20 October 2011 at 06:40 PM