You know, when it comes to driving an
electric vehicle or a plugin hybrid,
I know that many of you are big fans
and the latest numbers from the
state of Oregon show that more than
60,000 electric or plugin hybrids
are roaming around in Oregon. Now.
I have to say, I think the number
actually is much higher since that number
was last updated in November of 2022.
Apparently no one at the Oregon Department of
Energy cares enough to get a fresh number.
I mean, I emailed them today.
No reply.
Anyway, it's a lot of vehicles,
but there are also some headwinds.
The first thing is the cost.
This graph from the Oregon Department
of Energy shows the issue for one car.
As an example, the 2021 Hyundai Kona
ICE versus the Hyundai Kona EV.
They're basically the same car.
One's electric, one is not on the right.
The gas powered car costs roughly $20,500.
On the left, the electric
vehicle starts around $37,300.00.
So if we use those numbers,
the electric car is $17,000 more.
But the federal government does
offer up to $7500 in tax credits,
although the list of which vehicles
qualify is changing tomorrow.
And the state of Oregon offered 2500 to
$7500 in rebates for buying electric.
But that program ran out of money last month,
so it's on hold now and don't count on it.
There's also the added cost of having
to buy a charger for your home,
although utilities offer money
to help with that too.
In the Portland area that
means Pacific Power and PGE,
which offer about 500 bucks and up to
1000 for those who are lower income.
So that helps a little bit,
although you still have to hire
your own electrician, etcetera.
At least those numbers show it is
still more expensive to buy electric,
but.
Let's not lose sight of the big picture here.
There is a fundamental change
underway with a purpose to reduce
greenhouse gases and save our planet.
And yes,
I do hear those of you who say
China and India are big problems and
nothing that we do here matters.
I disagree. I think it all matters.
The big stuff and the little stuff.
It's an amazing time of transformation.
Someone with a front row seat
to all of this is Jeff Allen.
He's executive director of
a nonprofit called 4th.
Its goal is to get rid of barriers
for electric mobility,
which I know is a little bit nebulous,
but basically it means he's a
big fan of electric cars.
This is an incredibly complicated
transition that we're making,
and it's easy to get bogged down in
all the things that could go wrong
and all the things we're trying to do.
But fundamentally, it's an incredibly
exciting and optimistic story.
You know, driving electric car
today in the Pacific Northwest
is like driving a car that gets
120 miles per gallon or more.
And it's the only car you can buy that
gets cleaner every year you drive it
because the grid is getting cleaner.
All right. So you can tell he's a fan.
Last week, the Biden administration
announced new rules through the EPA,
which could have the effect of
turbocharging electric car sales.
It would cut the allowable
tailpipe emissions in half.
That could mean that in just nine years,
two out of every three new
vehicles sold would be electric.
In the meantime,
different rules that take effect
tomorrow will impact which
electrics get a federal tax credit.
Last summer, I visited the Herzog Meyer
Volkswagen dealership in Beaverton.
They were very nice.
I was very impressed by
their ID for electric car.
Well, this is kind of nice.
Tells me how much battery I got there,
how far it says I can go 734 miles.
No, 179 right now. This is the odometer.
Yeah, well, so I'm still learning
my way around all the high tech
dashboards that cars have these days.
Last summer, the biggest challenge was
getting the vehicles into the showrooms.
The supply chain problems that we had
back then created a waiting list of
a few months when we shot this video.
The ID four, which sells for
between 35,000 and 55,000,
did qualify for the federal tax credit.
But as of tomorrow,
it's going to be off the list,
the New York Times reports.
That's happening because Volkswagen
is still assessing its supply chain,
which I think means it needs to
certify that it's assembled in North
America and that the key battery
parts come from North America.
The chief executive for Volkswagen
Group of America, by the way,
has said he does expect the vehicle
will qualify, The Times reports.
The Volkswagen was the 4th most
popular EV in America, by the way,
over the first quarter of 2023.
The top three Tesla, GM, and Ford.
So here's the big change that's
happening tomorrow.
Remember when Congress passed
the Inflation Reduction Act?
It happened last August.
The bill did a whole lot of things.
The one, though,
that we care about and we focus on
is the one that promoted clean energy
when it comes to electric vehicles.
The government is approving
tax credits for vehicles from
companies that basically make their
batteries and cars in America.
That was part of that act.
According to a federal list
put out by the government,
7 auto companies and 14 vehicles will
qualify for the full $7500 tax credit.
They include Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y,
which are the best selling
electric vehicles in America.
The least expensive version of the Model 3,
by the way,
is only getting half the tax credit
because according to the New York Times,
the battery is made in China.
There are also income restrictions.
You cannot make more than
$300,000 as a married couple.
The vehicle has to be
assembled in North America.
Critical parts of the battery have to
come from North America or trade partners.
And the vehicle must not cost 80 grand,
must cost 80 grand as the top,
or less if it's an SUV or van or pickup
55 grand or less for other vehicles.
So to sum all that up,
the auto industry is finally serious
about really moving toward electric.
There are some changes in the
tax incentives designed to bring
down the price of electrics.
The federal government appears to
be behind the change in a big way,
and advocates like Jeff Allen say
you should get on board if you can.
So it's one of the easiest, quickest,
least painful things you can do
to reduce your carbon footprint.
And actually, electric cars
are better cars, right?
They're faster, they're fun.
You don't have to worry about
stopping to get gas.
So it really is a success story and.
We are accelerating that
transition at an incredible pace.
So what are your thoughts about all this?
Should the government be even more
aggressive in its tax incentives or credits?
Or is this just a bunch
of green economy hype?
Maybe something in between?
I don't know. What do you think?
Send me an e-mail.
The address is the story at kgw.com.
Or you could call and leave a voicemail.
The number is
503-226-5090. I look
forward to hearing from you.