Electric Vehicles For Clunkers, This State Has A New Rebate Program

Vermont is testing a new trade-in program to encourage residents to make the switch from gas powered vehicles to new electric vehicles (EVs).

What Happened: The Green Mountain State announced a new trade-in incentive program called “Replace Your Ride." It aims to incentivize residents to make the switch to EVs.

The move comes as California is working towards a future of no gas-powered vehicles.

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The plan also comes as the Inflation Reduction Act could help provide incentives to U.S. residents for buying new electric vehicles. 

The first phase of Vermont's program is aimed at helping lower-income residents replace their old gas-powered light-duty vehicles, according to Electrek. Here's a breakdown of the rules:

• Residents must have their name on the registration of both the old vehicle and the new electric vehicle to qualify.
• Those applying must be Vermont residents and can only qualify for the program one time.
• Electric vehicles can be new or used.
• The vehicles must have a suggested retail price of $40,000 or less for plug-in hybrid models and $45,000 or less for electric vehicles.
• Trade-in gas vehicles have to be at least 10 years old to qualify.
• The trade-in vehicle must also be able to start and drive and reverse a minimum distance.
• A $3,000 incentive is paid on a first-come, first-served basis to those eligible under the plan.
• The incentive can be stacked with existing incentives for getting electric vehicles.
• The second phase of Replace Your Ride will include a $3,000 voucher preloaded on a card to be used on items like electric bikes and shared mobility options.

Why It’s Important: Vermont transportation secretary Joe Flynn praised the move as helping cut the state’s carbon emissions.

“The transportation sector accounts for about 40% of Vermont’s carbon emissions. The state is working to rapidly reduce these harmful emissions by providing incentives for Vermonters to switch to cleaner transportation options, and allowing those incentives to be combined with existing state and local utility programs for even greater cost-savings,” Flynn said.

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Vermont is funding the Replace Your Ride initiative with $4.5 million allocated from transportation bills in 2021 and 2022.

Vermont becomes the second state to launch a gas-powered replacement incentive plan, after California launched a similar plan for several regions of the state.

The list of participating dealerships for the plan in Vermont includes ones that sell General Motors GM, Ford Motor Company F, Nissan, Toyota Motors TM, Kia, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen and Stellantis STLA brands.

Missing from the list is Tesla Inc. TSLA, which has no dealerships in the state of Vermont. Tesla would also fall outside the price range of vehicles included in the incentive plan from the state.

A study published by USA Today showed that Vermont ranked ninth of all 50 states for the most electric vehicle charging stations per electric vehicle registered in the state.

Based on the number of charging stations and the new electric vehicle rebate plan, Vermont could be significantly ahead of other states in moving the push for clean energy further.

Image: Pixabay