Colorado could soon compete with California for maximum incentives offered on electric vehicle purchases. A new report indicates that the state would offer its residents up to $26,500 in rebates for new EVs, and up to $11,000 for used ones.
Governor Jared Polis’ administration aims to add nearly one million light-duty EVs on Colorado’s streets by the end of the decade, a significant increase from the current 86,000 odd EVs plying on its roads, reported Colorado Public Radio News.
To meet this ambitious target, buyers would need to begin adopting zero-emissions vehicles in the coming years, something the government plans to encourage with generous rebates. InsideEVs has reached out to the Colorado Energy Office for a comment.
Some of those rebates include a $5,000 state incentive for vehicles purchased or leased after July 1, 2023. Then you have $2,500 worth of low-cost EV tax credit available from January 2024 onwards, up to $6,000 from a vehicle exchange program, and up to $5,500 from the electric utility and natural gas company from Xcel Energy. And of course, the $7,500 federal tax credit which is available nationwide.
The low-cost EV tax credit is applicable to cars priced under $35,000 – and only a handful of options are available currently, including the soon-to-be-discontinued Chevrolet Bolt EV (although its successor is in the works), Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona Electric, and the Mini Cooper SE, among others. However, most of these do not qualify for the federal tax credit due to the critical minerals requirement.
The state is also offering credits of up to $12,000 for hybrid and pure electric trucks. To qualify, the commercial vehicles must be new, registered in Colorado, have a battery capacity of at least four kilowatt-hours, and have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of over 8,500 pounds. Even the likes of the Hummer EV could qualify for this credit, given its GVWR of over 9,000 pounds.
The $5,000 state incentive isn’t new and has been around since 2018, but the additional rebates appear relatively new, which EV buyers can combine to obtain substantial savings.
If you’re a Colorado resident, check out the eligibility requirements, which are pretty comprehensive for each program. Here are the maximum rebate amounts and some useful resources to look at:
- $5,000: Colorado EV Tax Credit
- $2,500: Low Cost Credit
- $6,000: Vehicle Exchange Program
- $5,500: Xcel Energy rebates
- $12,000: Hybrid and Electric Trucks
- $7,500: Federal Tax Credit
