Oregon reportedly stopped offering its electric vehicle rebate program after it distributed over $75 million in funds since its inception in 2018.
The announcement is indicated on Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program website.
“Rebate availability depends on program funding at the time of vehicle purchase or lease. Due to overwhelming demand and limited funding, rebates will be suspended as of May 1, 2023.
Any vehicles purchased or leased on or after May 1, 2023 will not be eligible to apply for the rebate once the program reopens. Once funding is available again, the program will announce its reopening. For more information, go to the State of Oregon press release.”
Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program
The state is now prioritizing the development of parks with new charging infrastructures to support the rapidly growing number of EVs.
Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program
The Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which initially launched in 2018, was briefly paused in March 2023 due to financial constraints. That said, customers have to purchase an electric vehicle by April 30 in order to receive the incentives.
On May 1, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) once again suspended two cash choices for EV customers. The first is a rebate of up to $2,500 for customers who purchased/leased an EV or PHEV below $50,000, regardless of income level. The other one is up to $5,000 incentive for low to moderate-income customers. It is worth noting that eligible customers can claim both incentives simultaneously for $7,500.
This rebate program aligns with California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Act, which calls for all new vehicle sales to be emissions-free by 2025.
However, the cost of this program would only continue to increase in the years toward 2035, per DEQ’s clean vehicle rebate coordinator (via Oregon Public Broadcasting).
“The number for next year, for example, is an estimated $33 million to cover the costs. But if we were to look out to, say, 2030, we were looking at the projected cost could be over $91 million a year.”
Erica Timm, Clean vehicle rebate coordinator at DEQ
According to the latest statistics, the state has distributed over $75 million under the rebate program and recorded 24,000 applications as of April.
See Also:
- States suspend EV incentives due to increasingly huge number of demand
- Clean Car Discount saves motorists $115m in fuel bills in New Zealand
- Are tax rebates accessible for secondhand EVs?
- Queensland advanced as the best state to buy an EV in Australia
- California increased its incentive program for low and moderate-income buyers
As mentioned, the state decided to focus on building charging infrastructures to further promote EV adoption. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) reportedly collaborated with the nonprofit Adopt A Charger and thermoplastic resin distributor Entec Polymers to build Rivian chargers in state parks. According to the press release, the planned state park chargers would join the nearly 1,700 public Level 2 chargers across the state.
“The installation of EV charging stations at Oregon State Parks supports OPRD’s environmental stewardship by enabling zero-emission travel to these popular destinations.
It complements The Oregon Electric Byways and the West Coast Electric Highway, which provide the framework for EV tourism, by closing the gaps in the infrastructure.”
Kitty Adams Hoksbergen, Adopt a Charger’s executive director
Depending on the amount of money raised via Adopt A Charger, Entec Polymers will pay the usage costs for the new stations for up to two years in select locations.
