Earth Equity News

New Plug-in Electric Vehicles Get Boost from Bailout Plan. By Mark Zimmerman, LA Times, October 31, 2008. "Generous tax credits for buyers of plug-in electric vehicles were among the incentives larded into the Wall Street bailout package this month to ensure its passage by Congress. [Starting January 1, 2009,] buyers will be eligible for a tax credit of up to $7,500 based on the power of their batteries... The vehicles have required costly development of a new generation of lithium-ion batteries. GM's Chevy Volt, slated to be in showrooms by November 2010, is expected to cost $30,000 to $40,000... Vehicles with batteries of at least four kilowatt-hours will qualify for a $2,500 credit. An extra $417 credit is provided for each additional kilowatt-hour, with a maximum credit of $7,500 for a vehicle weighing less than 10,000 pounds... [GM says that] the Volt apparently will qualify for the full credit. GM is also planning a plug-in version of its Saturn Vue hybrid, Nissan is developing an electric car for the U.S., and Toyota expects to put plug-in hybrid vehicles in the hands of fleet operators by late 2009... The tax credits begin to phase out after 250,000 qualifying vehicles are sold industrywide in the U.S."