Oregon’s clean vehicle rebate program closed in May 2023 when funding ran out and reopened this spring for just two months, ending June 3, based on funding estimates.
But many people have already applied for the rebates this spring, and funding will likely be exhausted before the June deadline.
However, Oregonians who purchased an electric vehicle during the two-month period can still get a refund if the taxes collected by Oregon dealers are higher than expected.
“We sold two to three times as many new electric vehicles during the rebate program times, so that had a big impact,” said Brian Schindler, director of business development at Capitol Auto Group in Salem.
“Electric vehicles are coming to the mainstream buyer mainly because of credits and rebates,” Schindler said.
State rebates ranging from $2,500 with a standard rebate to $7,500 for low- to moderate-income Oregonians have allowed agents to advertise and offer leases and special deals that were not available before the rebates, he said. Before the rebates, Capitol Auto Group wasn’t selling many electric vehicles, Schindler said.
More than 16% of all new vehicle sales in Oregon were electric vehicles in the first quarter of 2023, the second highest rate in the country, according to the Oregon Department of Energy. According to the Electric Vehicle Dashboard, there were 84,865 zero-emission vehicles in Oregon as of December 2023.
Due to high sales last year and exhaustion of rebate funds, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality paused the program for the first time since its inception in 2018, closing the program on May 1, 2023.
“We realize that the short periods of time that our program is open can be challenging for people,” said Erica Timm, Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Coordinator for DEQ.
Even if they miss out on the Oregon rebate, buyers who buy or lease a qualifying new electric vehicle can get a $7,500 federal tax credit. The federal tax credit also directs $4,000 to qualifying used electric vehicles.
More than 20,000 electric vehicle buyers miss out on Oregon rebate
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, 21,557 new electric vehicles were registered from May 2023 through February 2024. These vehicle registrations represent an average of 14.5% of all brand new vehicle registrations..
But those buyers and anyone who bought an electric vehicle through April 3 of this year were not eligible for Oregon Clean Vehicle rebates.
Harold Gilley, of Redmond, purchased a Hyundai Ioniq 6 in Salem shortly before the 2024 window was announced, assuming financing would be available in January rather than April.
Gilley said he was frustrated when he realized his purchase wouldn’t qualify for the rebates and called the limited window “capricious and arbitrary.”
He said he doesn’t regret his purchase but wants to understand why DEQ’s financing window this year can’t apply to buyers outside of the two months DEQ announced this year.
How much money does Oregon’s electric vehicle rebate program have this year?
The State of Oregon funds the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program through the state’s vehicle lien tax of 0.5% of the retail price of the vehicle collected by Oregon dealers and paid quarterly to the state.
The program has core funding of $12 million annually, or 45% of the tax. It could be more if taxes exceed $12 million.
Money is sent from the state in two batches, usually in early March and mid-May. If tax collections are more than $12 million, additional disbursements are made in the last quarter of the year.
In 2023, DEQ received a total of $15,395,232 among three payments and about $3.5 million in funds carried over from 2022, the agency said.
This year, the first installment of the 2024 budget was received in early March.
The agency first paid out $2.5 million in rebates to 560 approved applicants on a waiting list after purchasing or leasing electric vehicles before the program closed last year.
It also allocates $1.2 million for administrative costs and another $300,000 for public engagement. The agency is paying Thuy Tu Consulting $200,000 to raise awareness of the Charge Ahead Rebate program through community organizations.
DEQ is required to use 20% of rebate funds for Charge Ahead rebates. Another $100,000 of the $300,000 goes to the Sustainable Energy Center for dealer training and outreach. The Center for Sustainable Energy is also the national non-profit DEQ contact for processing all rebate requests and distributing rebates.
A final $100,000 is being held for the following year to cover administrative costs until spring payments are received, the DEQ said. (DEQ sets a 10% cap on administrative costs in its rules.)
This means there is only $7.9 million available for electric vehicle rebates this year.
DEQ has applied for a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the EPA to fund part of the Charge Ahead Rebate program, Tim said.
In the grant narrative submitted to EPA, the agency states the funding need:
“The popularity of this program has significantly exceeded the annual funding of $12 million, resulting in the program being open for only 5 months in 2023, and is expected to be open for only 2 months in 2024. It is expected that it will be suspended in the future as the program becomes available Shorter and this leads to fewer programmes. Low-income families are able to afford cleaner transportation options, DEQ wrote.
If funded, that money would likely be available in 2025 for rebates, and hopefully the program will be open longer for that portion of the rebate program, Tim said.
How Oregon decided to close the program last year and reopen it for two months this year
DEQ shut down the rebates program last year after limiting when they thought the program would be able to pay rebates, Tim said.
“If we leave the program open and allow vehicles purchased during our suspension to also be eligible for the rebate, we will use next year’s money to pay those rebates and we won’t be able to open it in future years,” she said.
If rebates were available throughout 2023, there wouldn’t be any money for rebates this year, Tim said.
“It’s possible that the vehicle lien tax will provide more funding again, but we won’t know that until the fourth quarter of 2024,” said Susan Mills, DEQ spokeswoman. Approved discounts as much as possible on the waiting list for 2024.
But once funding is exhausted, Mills said, the rest of the waiting list will have to wait until early spring 2025 when the agency receives that year’s initial funding disbursement.
How electric vehicle buyers and dealers can stay up to date on the latest rebate financing news
DEQ updates the rebate financing available on its website throughout the year to give applicants a better idea of how much financing is remaining.
As of May 13, $1.04 million in funding remained and more than $4 million in applications were on the waiting list.
Requests for vehicles purchased before the June 2 deadline will be processed in the order they were received, the DEQ said. If funds run out before qualifying rebates are paid, they will be placed on the waiting list for 2025 and given priority when funds are renewed in early spring of 2025.
EV rebate amounts in Oregon
The Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate can be taken directly from the cost of an electric vehicle purchased or leased from a participating dealer.
For electric vehicles leased or purchased from a non-participating dealership, buyers must apply online after owning their vehicle and wait about two to three months to receive the discount. Applications must be submitted within six months from the date buyers obtain their electric vehicle.
The standard deductible is $750 for zero-emission motorcycles, $1,500 for vehicles with a battery of less than 10 kWh, and $2,500 for vehicles with a battery of 10 kWh and more.
The advance fee rebate is income-limited, providing a higher rebate to low- to moderate-income Oregonians who purchase new or used electric vehicles. Applicants must have a total household income of less than 400% of the federal poverty line, which is just over $60,000 for a single person and about $124,000 for families of four.
Last year, DEQ launched a pre-qualification app for the Charge Ahead Rebate program, allowing potential buyers to see if they qualify. The program provides a re-base of $6,500 for new vehicles with a battery of less than 10 kWh, and a rebate of $7,500 for new vehicles with a battery of 10 kWh or more. For a used electric vehicle, the Charge Ahead deductible is $5,000.
Visit the DEQ website for additional details.
Diane Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equality issues. Contact her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com Or on X @Diane Lugo
