Title

California’s Electric Vehicle Incentives: What do we Know?

Time

1:00pm - 2:00pm

Location

1605 Tilia, Room 1103, West Village

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Austin Brown is Executive Director of the Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy at the University of California, Davis. In this role, he builds strong connections between the research and policy communities at the local, state, and national levels with a focus on clean energy and sustainable transportation. Prior to joining UC Davis in June 2017, he spent nine years in Washington, DC, working for the Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and as Assistant Director for Clean Energy and Transportation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Obama Administration.

California has a world-leading set of policies encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles. Setting the specifics of these policies requires some tough choices to try to thread a variety of needles. How does the state incentivize a novel technology without unduly subsidizing the wealthy? How does the state balance efforts to provide incentives, support infrastructure, and increase public awareness? And how can the state be sure that efforts to incentives EVs are working? Recent policy changes to add an income cap and increase the rebate available for lower income buyers attempt to respond to these concerns. Research is a powerful tool to help the state (and other states and cities considering programs for EVs) to understand the effects of these policies.

The webinar will include recent research summary findings exploring novel aspects of California’s EV incentives programs including:

• What are the expected effects of adding income caps for rebate recipients?
• What are the expected changes from increasing the rebate for low-income vehicle buyers?
• What are the expected outcomes and design considerations for outreach efforts to improve awareness and engagement on EVs?
• How effective are incentives at increasing sales of EVs?