Electric Vehicle Incentives: Everywhere…
Posted July 29, 2010 at 2:21 pm 
Filed in: The deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and the potential of “electromobility” are hot topics in political and economic arenas around the world. Major carmakers, including Daimler AG, Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Corp, Renault SA, Peugeot-Citroen, VW, Nissan and Mitsubishi Corp., are developing new-generation EVs, and governments are introducing new legislation and policies to accelerate the deployment at scale of EVs.
The European Union (EU) currently has a large project on EVs and related infrastructure as part of the Green Car Initiative announced in November 2008, with a total budget of around €50 million. Also, a new strategy for clean and energy-efficient vehicles was published in April 2009, which plans to stimulate investment in charging infrastructure and EV services for an integrated European charging system, ensuring that EVs can be charged anywhere within the EU. There is also increasing support at the national level, with consumer purchase incentives of up to £5,000 ($7,800) in the United Kingdom, €5,000 ($6,500) in France and €6,000 ($7,800) in Spain being offered.
Incentives for EVs in the region range from subsidies, tax reductions, insurance facilities, free recharging on the street or in parking areas, permission to use bus lanes, toll free travel on highways and exemption from congestion charging, among other initiatives. The European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (AVERE) offers a good summary of the taxation and incentives in the different European countries.
On the other side of the world, in April 2009 Chinese officials announced their plan to make China the world’s largest producer of electric cars. Chinese companies such as BYD, SAIC, Geely and Chery, intend to commercially market electric vehicles before the end of 2010. Some of them even hope to one day export their vehicles to the United States.
Also, as we mentioned in a previous blog, China is launching a pilot program for electric vehicles in 5 cities. Residents of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Changchun will receive rebates of 60,000 Yuan ($8,800) if they buy pure electric vehicles and 50,000 Yuan ($7,320) in subsidies if they buy plug-in hybrid cars. The government will also pay for electric charging infrastructure, and has mandated that the state electric utilities and state grid companies ready themselves for electric vehicle charging and build the recharging stations.
Not so far away, in Taiwan, government initiatives aim to deploy 160,000 electric scooters and 3,000 electric vehicles over the next four years. Taiwanese automakers reacted positively to these incentives, with companies like HAITEC stating they will offer in the near future an EV version of every vehicle model they have.
Another Asian giant, Japan, has since June 2009 offered subsidies to consumers who purchase EVs, in some cases even granting price reductions of 40 percent from the original price. Additionally, consumers buying EVs and hybrids are exempt from paying automobile acquisition taxes, as well as three years’ worth of the vehicle’s weight tax.
Indian carmakers seem to be far ahead the rest of the world regarding production. The only EV that has been manufactured for several years is the Indian REVA, produced by REVA Electric Car Company Private Ltd., which started commercializing the first REVA car in June 2001. The current version of the REVA (REVAi) was first reserved for the Indian market, but it is now distributed in several European countries. In addition to REVA, electric cars are being made by at least 5 more Indian companies.
Referring to the launch of Mitsubishi’s new all-electric i-MiEV, company President Osamu Masuko articulated his vision of Mitsubishi’s future, an outlook of which U.S. policymakers would be wise to take note: “We are looking ahead. We look at the global auto market of 10 or 20 years later from now… We are in the midst of global auto competition, and we should not be left behind.”
This is a pivotal time for the future of electrification in the United States. Approval of the Senate energy bill raising incentives for the purchase of EVs and promoting investments in EV infrastructure is critical to ensuring that the United States is an important player in the development of this market.
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