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California could put $60,000 MRSP limit on EV rebates

In California, electric vehicles have been selling so well that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is discussing ways to reduce the amount spent on the state's Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP). The program, which provides rebates to EV buyers, is $30 million in debt this year, according to the Capitol Weekly. A new discussion document that was presented at CARB's April 3 meeting lists two main ways that the state could save money while still supporting EV sales. There could be a $60,000 price limit on plug-in vehicles that CARB would subsidize. Option one is to reduce the rebate by $500, which would mean pure EVs would get $2,000 and plug-in hybrids would get $1,000. The other option would be to put a $60,000 price limit on plug-in vehicles that CARB would subsidize. Currently, this would only affect two vehicles: the Tesla Model S and the Cadillac ELR. You can find the details in this PDF; see pages 20-23 for discussion on reducing the rebates. CARB's numbers show that cutting the rebate by $500 would result in "only a minimal short-term impact in the growth of sales of eligible vehicles." The benefit would be that," the budget savings associated with the short-term market delay will more than offset this impact by providing rebates for about 41 percent more vehicles during fiscal year 2014-15 under a fixed budget." As far as limiting the rebate to vehicles that cost less than $60,000, CARB makes the obvious point that, "rebates are more effective in influencing purchase decisions related to vehicles with a MSRP lower than $60,000." CARB thinks this limit will impact no more than two percent of the EV market, "but will allow the program to be more effective in influencing consumer purchase decisions." Plug In America does not support CARB's proposal. PIA's senior policy advisor, Jay Friedland, told AutoblogGreen that: At this early point in the market, Plug In America is working hard along side a coalition of automakers, NGOs, utilities and consumers to maintain the CA Clean Vehicle Rebate at current levels with all vehicles included. Tesla is a leading California EV manufacturer - and has been indispensable to creating the market generally - and should not be excluded from the program. Every EV reduces pollution for kids and adults alike and our dependence on petroleum. We asked Tesla for a statement, but have not heard back.

Battery price skeptic says Tesla's $35,000 EV won't happen [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The story's been updated to include a response from Tesla. It's a good thing Dr. Menahem Anderman doesn't run the Nevada state government. The longtime battery-technology researcher, who heads the Advanced Automotive Batteries conference, isn't buying Tesla Motors' claim that it'll get lithium-ion battery costs down to less than $100 per kilowatt hour within the next 10 years. That would be bad news, since that price will be key to the automaker's ability to make a $35,000 electric vehicle. The good doctor is instead pegging battery costs at about $167/kWh in 2025, and says they will "unlikely" drop below $200/kWh before the end of the decade. He makes a rather detailed case in his report, which can be found here (PDF). We all know how confident CEO Elon Musk has been on his company's price predictions to drop the price of a pack by "more than 30 percent." As for Anderman's estimates, Tesla is taking the high road, as company spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson, in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen, declined to comment directly on the report, choosing instead to defer to Musk's previous comments. Tesla has said its planned Gigafactory will provide the scale needed to bring battery costs down enough to make the $35,000 EV. By Anderman's estimates, the battery costs will be more commensurate to a $50,000 EV, which isn't horrible, but it's not the type of mass-market price that the industry (and Tesla stockholders, for that matter) are expecting. Earlier this month, Nevada offered an incentive package worth about $1.3 billion to Tesla, which is planning its plant near Reno. Battery-maker Panasonic is an investor in the factory as well.

Recharge Wrap-up: Automakers talk connected cars, Toyota's CNG hauler

Tesla, Toyota and General Motors addressed the House Subcommittee on Information Technology about the security and benefits of "The Internet of Cars." Tesla put forth four suggested security principles for the security of connected cars. Those include standard cryptography ("signing") used by automakers, measures to prohibit direct connection over the internet, isolation of a car's networked systems from its mechanical systems and standard encrypted communications protocols. Tesla VP of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell also urged against "overly restrictive regulation." O'Connell says, "Regulation at a time of rapid innovation runs the risk of limiting the realization of the full extent of safety advances." See the hearing in the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Details over the rollout of new DC fast chargers by NRG eVgo and BMW leave some i3 owners disappointed. The partners will add 500 fast-charging sites to the eVgo network in 25 cities by the end of 2015. The "Fast Combo" chargers will be available to use for free for BMW i3 customers for 24 months. The free charging only applies to new buyers, though, leaving behind some 15,000 current i3 owners. Still, many EV drivers – not just BMW owners – will benefit from the ability to charge quickly in more places. Read more at Green Car Reports. Toyota has announced its first CNG car hauler. The automaker's in-house transport company, Toyota Transport, will operate the truck out of Long Beach, California. The truck, which Toyota says emits 85 percent less particulate matter and 10 percent less CO2, will drive about 7,000 to 8,000 miles per month. "We started exploring the CNG option more than three years ago, and it has been worth the wait," say Toyota Transport Compliance Senior Analyst Kirk Welch. "Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and will help Toyota advance our environmental efforts to reduce fleet emissions." Read more in the press release below. Making Your New Toyota Run Cleaner Before You Even Start It Toyota's Latest Car Hauler Runs on Compressed Natural Gas November 23, 2015 TORRANCE, Calif. (Nov. 23, 2015) – Toyota Transport, the automaker's in-house vehicle transportation trucking company, now has its first car hauler that runs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The Long Beach, CA based truck/trailer does what any other car hauler can do, except it does it while emitting 85 percent less overall particulate matter and 10 percent less carbon dioxide.