Incentives For Electric Car Buyers in Oregon

A rebate for electric cars in Oregon is finding thousands of takers and pushing more and more people into electric vehicles.

In Oregon, drivers who buy or lease a new, non-luxury electric car can apply for a state rebate worth up to $2,500. Those taxpayer-financed rebates were on hold for much of last year until the Oregon Supreme Court upheld their legality in August 2018.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said it had 3,161 applicants between January 2018 when the rebate program started and this week. An agency spokeswoman said the pace of incoming applications seems like it is picking up.

The state incentives in Oregon and Washington are in addition to a federal income tax credit worth up to $7,500 for buyers of certain models of new all-electric vehicles.

In 2018, Oregon had about 20,000 registered electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. By 2020, that number is expected to double. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s goal is to make every new car sale an electric vehicle by 2050. As electric models become more and more affordable coupled with financial incentives for those who buy an EV, increased vehicle charge capacity and utility-funded charging stations—it really seems like the electric vehicle sales will take off!