USA: Washington State extends EV tax incentives

Washington State governor Jay Inslee has signed legislation to extend electric vehicle and charging infrastructure tax incentives in the state. They hope to increase the adoption of electric and clean alternative fuel vehicles in order to curb exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions.

“This important legislation will assist in reducing carbon emissions in the Pacific Northwest,” said Jay Inslee. Representative Jake Fey added that the measure “passed both the House and the Senate with strong bi-partisan support.”

The measure titled HB 2042 extends tax incentive programs for electric and other alternative fuel vehicles and charging infrastructure. The HB 2042 starts on August 1, 2019, for new or leased vehicles with a sales price of $45,000 or less, or a used vehicle with a sales price of $30,000 or less.

Furthermore, the following key provisions were also included in the bill:

• Enables public and private utilities to invest in electric vehicle charging or hydrogen fueling station infrastructure.
• Provides $3.6 million in funding for projects that demonstrate electric car-sharing in low-income communities and rural areas over six years.
• Funds a study to find opportunities for financial assistance for lower-income residents to purchase electric vehicles.
• Provides $36 million in grants to assist transit authorities to purchase electric battery and fuel cell components for electric and zero emission buses.
• Provides $1 million annually to continue building out the state’s fast-charging network.

The bill also did not go unnoticed by the EV industry, as Nissan Director of EV Marketing and Sales Strategy in North America, Brian Maragno stated: “As the EV market has matured, the State of Washington has been a global leader in promoting electric vehicles to more buyers.” The fact that the measure also includes provisions for less wealthy population segments, which would not necessarily constitute an attractive factor by automobile manufacturers, was praised by Forth Mobility’s executive director Jeff Allen: “We are especially pleased that were able to include used electric cars and projects in low income urban and rural communities in the bill.”

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