Oregonians looking to buy or lease a new or used electric vehicle have about two weeks left to take advantage of the state’s popular rebate program before it ends for the year on June 3.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate offers two kinds of rebates to residents seeking an eligible zero-emissions vehicle, with one based on income. The program has become increasingly popular over the last few years, as the transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric continues.
That popularity has led to confusion, at times, for Oregonians seeking electric vehicles. Funding limits have led DEQ to offer rebates only within limited windows. Many who bought or leased EVs within last year’s rebate period have had to wait months to be reimbursed because of state budget and tax collection cycles. That could happen again this year.
FILE - A car is parked by an electric charging station in downtown Portland, Ore., March 31, 2011.
Rick Bowmer / AP
The agency suspended the program last May because it ran out of money. The program receives at least $12 million a year, or 45% of the state’s vehicle privilege tax — a tax paid by car dealerships. As electric vehicles have become more popular, that’s not been enough to offer rebates to every interested driver.
So far, DEQ has processed more than 650 rebate applications from people buying or leasing electric vehicles in 2024.
As of Monday, there were more than 985 applications under review. The agency works with the nonprofit Center for Sustainable Energy to process the applications, a process which can take from a couple of weeks to two months to complete.
Erica Timm, the EV rebate program’s coordinator, said DEQ projected it has enough funding to reopen the program for two months this year.
“We recognize that the short time, it’s tricky for folks,” she said. “We needed to look at our funding and the likelihood that we could be able to pay out all those rebates for the vehicles purchased at least during that time.”
Related: Oregon’s popular EV rebate program is out of money and remains suspended
Timm said this year’s two-month EV rebate window was set after looking at how many people received a rebate last year, as well as the volume of applications the agency received and anticipated funding.
“We’re a little over midway through the program, it does appear, we may run out of money again,” she said. “If that occurs, what we’ll do is we’ll open a waiting list as we did in 2023.”
Timm said the agency anticipates a waitlist will be created in the next week or two.
“We’re moving through our funding quicker than we anticipated, based on our models, which were based on last year’s participation rates,” she said. “It seems that people are excited to see the program reopen are taking advantage of it.”
DEQ has $8M for rebates this round
Prior to reopening the program in April, DEQ had issued nearly $85 million in rebates to almost 30,000 applicants.
The agency receives vehicle privilege tax funding in two disbursements each year. The first half is delivered earlier in March and the second half in May. The tax funds rebates, program administration, and community engagement and outreach.
For 2023, DEQ received more than $15 million, and had about $3.5 million in carryover funds from 2022. Last year, the agency put about 1,700 approved applicants on a waitlist. They had applied on time, but the agency did not have funds to pay their rebates. In the fall, the agency received an additional disbursement of $3.4 million from the vehicle privilege tax, and paid enough rebates to cut that waitlist down to 560.
This February, the agency received the first disbursement of the tax for 2024 and paid out the remaining rebates from the previous year’s waitlist.
Related: Oregon to temporarily suspend popular EV rebate program
After setting aside about $1.6 million for administrative costs and community outreach engagement, the agency has about $8 million for rebates during this round of funding.
Timm said DEQ is looking for more funding sources to pay for EV rebates, and those could be available as soon as next year. One of the programs is it’s eying a federal grant aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“If funded, this money would likely be available in 2025 and would be focused on providing additional funding for the Charge Ahead rebates,” she said.
Timm said the agency is also ramping up its outreach efforts in lower-income communities to raise awareness about its Charge Ahead rebate and answer questions about EVs. The income linked rebate is available for households with annual income from $51,000 to $251,000 a year, depending on the household size. It’s aimed at increasing EV purchases for low-income households.
The agency is also conducting surveys to better understand barriers these communities face in accessing EVs and how to improve their program.
Low-income drivers frustrated over rebates suspension
This year, the agency rolled out pre-qualified application vouchers for its Charge Ahead rebate. The vouchers can be used at participating dealerships for both new and used EVs, so buyers know they’ll get a rebate up front and won’t be put on a waitlist.
The agency has granted close to 1,400 pre-qualified vouchers, and 184 have been redeemed this year.
But the start and pause of the program is confusing to many people, said Forth executive director Jeff Allen. Forth is a nonprofit dedicated to increasing equitable access to electric transportation. Allen said many people have reached out to Forth to express their frustration when the EV rebate is suspended, or when they don’t know that it has reopened to take advantage of the rebates.
Related: Electric vehicle sales soar in Oregon; state officials expect big numbers in 2023
He said it’s been particularly hard on low-income households considering buying an EV.
“Those folks often don’t have as much leisure or flexibility when they’re buying a new car,” he said. “Their car breaks down, they need a car now, and they really count on that rebate to be able to make these vehicles more affordable for them.”
Allen said Oregon lawmakers need to step up and invest more into the program. It’s one of the easiest ways to address climate change, he said, and could bring immediate benefits to low-income communities who are most impacted by a changing climate.
Oregon residents must purchase or lease an EV by June 3 to qualify for rebates this year. Vehicles are only eligible for state rebates if they’re bought during the April 3 through June 3 rebate window.
DEQ officials encourage residents to check out a list of participating car dealerships that offer rebates at the point of purchase. The agency also encourages low- to moderate-income residents to get pre-approved for the Charge Ahead rebate voucher, which can be used at the point of purchase or leasing of a qualifying EV.
Correction: Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality receives tax disbursements to fund EV rebates twice a year, in March and May. An earlier version of this story had incorrect disbursement timing. OPB regrets the error.