Believe it or not, New York hasn’t offered a financial incentive to buy eco-friendly cars. While over three quarters of the US has some kind of state-level discount, New York has made you ‘settle’ for the federal tax credit. Officials are about to sweeten the pot, though: months after approval, New York is launching a rebate program on April 1st that gives you up to $2,000 if you buy an electric car or plug-in hybrid. If you can buy a car that also qualifies for the federal credit, you’re looking at nearly ten grand off the sticker price.
The initiative wasn’t exactly on the fast track. April 1st was the deadline for launching the program — the state clearly put this off until the last minute, and staff at New York’s Energy Research and Development Authority are still hashing out the details of the rebate. Still, it could be vital if it goes according to plan. New York represents one of the larger potential markets for electric cars outside of California, and the added incentive could be important for the Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3 and future EVs just affordable enough that even $2,000 could make a big difference. It’s particularly important for the Model 3, whose pre-orders are strong enough that you may not get a federal credit at all if you ordered relatively late.
