No deal for Chevrolet Volt, Chevy Bolt EV buyers in final days of tax credit

2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Consumers have less than three days to buy a plug-in Chevy Volt or Bolt EV from GM and still qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax. And yet Chevrolet isn't making any final push to clear out inventories of either car.

Nor does GM have any plans to cut prices after the tax cut expires on Monday, as Tesla did with its cars after the tax credit began to wind down.

GM is the second automaker to face the "tax credit cliff," as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called it, after delivering 200,000 plug-in cars. Tesla passed that limit last July, which caused the tax credit to drop from the full $7,500 to $3,750 on its cars starting January 1. GM, which began selling Chevy Volts two years before Tesla introduced the Model S, passed the limit in November, meaning its buyers are only eligible for $3,750 starting Monday. After that, the credit on Chevrolet plug-ins will drop to $1,875 in September. (Tesla faces that drop in June.) 

GM spokesman Jim Cain confirmed to Reuters that the company will not cut sticker prices on the Bolt EV in reaction to the tax-credit drop. "It is easier to react to the market by working with dealers and your marketing team than it is to change sticker prices," he said.

With fixed manufacturer prices and no dealers, Tesla didn't have that option.

Still, so far Chevrolet doesn't even seem to be offering any further discounts on either car to provide buyers an incentive to purchase while they can still get the larger tax credit.

When we checked with our partners at CarsDirect about special deals, we found that Chevrolet is offering big discounts for Bolt EV buyers, but no bigger than they have been in recent months. The deals also aren't available to lessees. Buyers can get up to 14 percent off the sticker price of a Bolt EV. The plug-in hybrid Volt is one of the few GM models that is not eligible for that deal.

Bargains are much skimpier on the scant inventory remaining on the discontinued Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. There, the best deal is a lease for $389 a month with $4,029 due at signing, for an effective monthly cost of $402 per month. That compares with a $209 a month lease on the Volt's closest rival, the Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, with $2,299 down and an effective cost of $273 a month. Honda plug-ins will be eligible for the full tax credit for several years.

One dealer in Northridge, California, is offering $8,515 off the price of a Bolt EV before buyers even walk in the door. The same dealer is offering a $3,608 discount on a Volt in stock.

Tesla sells car number 200,000, starting phaseout of federal tax credits

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model X

Tesla's vehicle purchase incentives web page on Thursday morning reported that the wind-down of incentives for buyers of its cars has begun. The change was first noted and reported by Jalopnik.

Following the change, Tesla buyers will only be eligible to receive the full $7,500 federal tax credit until Dec. 31. After that, the credits will halve, first to $3,750 in the first six months of next year, then to $1,875 in the second half of 2019.

A Tesla spokeswoman confirmed the change to us, but declined to comment further.

The phaseout was triggered when Tesla delivered its 200,000th car to a customer in the U.S. this week.

The change represents a net price increase for Tesla buyers.

The incentives were designed to boost electric car sales by giving buyers a tax credit that would bring prices in line with competitive gas cars.

Each manufacturer is allotted 200,000 credits before the phaseout begins. The reasoning behind the law was that by the time the credits start to phase out, battery costs will be lower and the cars will naturally command less of a premium relative to conventional cars.

Those automakers like Tesla who were early to market would have a head start not only in building electric cars, but also in reducing their battery costs.

With more than 400,000 customers holding deposits on the Tesla Model 3, many of those customers will likely not receive any federal tax credit.

Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure

Many of those same buyers who have not yet received their cars have waited for Tesla to follow through on its promise to build a car for $35,000. So far, the company is only building high-end versions of the Model 3 for significantly higher prices.

For example, a buyer today who purchases a Model 3 for $50,000 (representing a long-range battery, rear-wheel drive car with the required Premium Package), would get a tax credit that will bring the effective price down to $42,500. When the base Model 3 becomes available, many may sell for about that price with Autopilot, all-wheel drive, or the premium package, plus an optional paint color or wheel choice. Without the tax credit, those later buyers may get less car for the same effective price.

Earlier this year, analysts debated whether Tesla or GM would be first sell 200,000 cars first and trigger the tax-credit phaseout for their buyers. In the past couple months,  Tesla has ramped up production of the Model 3 and it became clearer that Tesla would reach the trigger first.

Sales reports show that the company pulled out all the stops to avoid selling its 200,000th car in the U.S. until after July 1, to maintain the full tax credit for one extra quarter, by pushing more sales to Canada among other things. After that, reaching the target this quarter became inevitable.

GM is still expected to be the next automaker to cross the 200,000 threshold, which could happen later this quarter.

2017 CHEVROLET BOLT EV LONG-TERM ARRIVAL

Last year, live before the world, we crowned the Chevrolet Bolt EV our 2017 Car of the Year. Not because it’s a good EV, not because it’s a good car, and not because it’s the first electric car to offer anxiety-free range at a price middle class folks can afford. It’s for all of those reasons. Luckily, we have a full year to see if the Bolt can live up to the high bar we set.

The Bolt is one of the more significant long-term cars we’ve had in recent years. Tons of people were interested in our long-term Tesla Model S, but most of them couldn’t afford it. Plenty of people were interested in our long-term Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul EV but were turned off by their limited range and long charge times. As such, the Bolt will be many people’s first real exposure to an EV that finally meets their needs. It goes 238 miles on a charge, according to the EPA (we’ll test that), and it can add 90 miles of range in about 30 minutes on a DC fast charger.

As I was sitting down to write this introduction, I received a press release from a Chevy dealer in Georgia, which bought a Bolt in California and trucked it back home to use as a demo until it gets its allocation later this year.

Because this car will attract folks who’ve never owned an EV before, we’re going to document it all the way. We purchased a 240-volt home charger to install at my house in order to ensure the Bolt stays juiced up. The charger, an AeroVironment EVSE-RS, pulls 30 amps and retails for $999 to $1,099 depending on the length of the cable and whether it’s hardwired into your house or plugs into a 240-volt outlet. At the time of this writing, it’s on sale for $599 to $749. Installation was arranged through AeroVironment, which will send a local, factory-approved electrician to my house. He or she will install a 40-amp circuit breaker in my electrical panel, run up to 30 feet of wiring, and install the charger all for a flat $799 fee. If I need it more than 30 feet away or if my city requires permits and fees, I’ll pay those on top of the flat fee.

Including the charger and installation, we’re in it for $1,398, exactly the price of the bundled deal AeroVironment is currently running. If that’s too rich for you, AeroVironment also sells the TurboCord, which will plug into a NEMA 6-20 240-volt outlet such as the one your clothes dryer might use, for $599 to $699. If you don’t have a free plug, AeroVironment will install one as part of a bundle, which costs exactly the same as the wall charger bundle I got. On the plus side, you can take the TurboCord anywhere. Minus: It charges at 16 amps, significantly slower.

Then there’s the car itself. Our Bolt is the range-topping Premier model, which starts at $41,780 before tax credits. A federal tax credit takes $7,500 off the price, bringing it down to $34,280. The state of California offers an additional $2,500 tax credit, bringing the real-world sticker price of our car down to $31,780. Not dirt cheap, but it’s worth noting the average transaction price of a new car in the U.S. is $32,000. A standard LT model starts at $37,495, or $29,995 after federal credit and $27,495 after the additional California credit. As of this writing, 33 states offer some form of incentives on EV purchases and/or charger installation.

Getting the Premier trim package netted us fancier wheels, leather seats, a heated steering wheel, heated front and rear seats, a 360-degree camera, and more on top of the standard automatic climate control, HID headlights, rearview camera, keyless entry, and 10.2-inch touchscreen, among other things. To that, we added both the $485 Infotainment package (Bose stereo, wireless phone charger, and rear USB charging ports) and the $495 Driver Confidence package (collision warning, emergency braking, lane keeping assist, and adaptive headlights). We also wanted DC fast-charging capability, which set us back another $750, and Cajun Red paint, which cost $395. All told: $43,905 out the door, $36,405 after federal tax credit, and $33,905 with the California credit, too.

Add the cost of the home charger, and we’re out $45,303 up front, $37,803 after federal tax credit, and $35,303 with the California tax credit.

Depending on where you live, there might be additional rebates and incentives. For example, my electric utility offers special rates for EV owners who charge at off-peak hours, such as overnight. Some states and municipalities offer rebates on the purchase of a Level 2 charger to offset the cost, and some also offer financing programs to reduce the upfront cost of installing a charger.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier
BASE PRICE	$41,780*
PRICE AS TESTED	$43,905*
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback
MOTOR	200-hp/266-lb-ft AC permanent magnet
TRANSMISSION	1-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,555 lb (56/44%)
WHEELBASE	102.4 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	164.0 x 69.5 x 62.8 in
0-60 MPH	6.3 sec
QUARTER MILE	14.9 sec @ 92.9 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	128 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.78 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.4 sec @ 0.63 g (avg)
REAL MPG, CITY/HWY/COMB	28.6/26.3/27.8 kW-hrs/100 miles
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	128/110/119 mpg-e
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	26/31 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.00 lb/mile (at vehicle)
EPA RANGE	238 miles
*Before applicable tax rebates

White House Seeks $10,000 Electric Car Point-Of-Sale Rebate

2016 Chevrolet Volt

One of the latest bits of news from the White House is a proposition to increase electric vehicle tax incentives from the current $7,500 to$10,000.

The other idea is to expand the tax credit to other types of vehicles like compressed natural gas and to convert the credit to a point-of-sale rebate.

“Separately, the White House is again proposing boosting electric vehicle tax incentives to $10,000 — up from the current $7,500 — and expand it to other advanced technology vehicles like compressed natural gas. It wants to convert the credit to a point-of-sale rebate. But that proposal has gone nowhere.”

$10,000 is a lot of coin. If there really is a 200-mile EV for $35,000 on the horizon for 2017, then the price of current EVs with less than 100-miles of EPA range will come down and sales will go up anyways, right?

But the point-of-sale rebate (versus tax incentive) is something we’re definitely behind.

The White House has pushed for both the $10,000 amount and the point-of-sale switch in previous years, but both proposals were shot down.  We fully expect this denial to again be the case this year.

Source: The Detroit News

Federal Tax Credit For Two-Wheeled EVs – Yes, Please!

Those of you who love two-wheeled transportation – and there are a lot of you – have one more reason to go green.  The Senate Finance Committee approved a federal tax credit for purchasers of electric bikes and motorcycles last week.

The bill hasn’t passed, as of this point, but if it does, anyone who buys a new bike or motorcycle gets back 10% of the purchase price, up to $2500 (which, coincidentally, is exactly what you get for a Prius Plug-In).  Most two-wheeled EVs aren’t priced high enough to stop you from getting your full 10%, either, which seems to make this a pretty sweet deal.

Will It Help The American Market?

The big question up for debate is whether or not the e-bikes are worth our time and money; while huge in places like China (which has had oodles – and yes, that is a scientific term – of all sorts of bikes on the road for decades), they’re much less common in the United States. Regular Gas2 readers may be familiar withBrammo, BRD, and Zero Motorcycles, three companies selling electric bikes in the States, but a tax credit might help broaden that market (seriously, how many of you have bought something because it was discounted? Same idea).

The second question – much broader than the first – is whether or not federal tax credits are helpful at all in establishing a new product. So far, it’s a little hard to say; the Volt is selling well, the Leaf not so much, and the one million electric vehicles on the road goal is just not happening.

Focusing on the up side, though, is that if when this bill passes, it’s the perfect excusereason to go out and buy that electric motorcycle. There are so many. They’re better for the environment. They’re cheaper to operate and maintain. They’re quieter. They’ve got great torque. Plus the tax credit. It’s hard to go wrong.

.

Source: Gas2.0