CHEAPR Rebates Up in March – Still No Word on Timing of Program Changes

Rebates Spike in March, but Program Still Underspent

Rebates awarded under the state EV purchase-incentive program spiked to 151 in March, double that of the (slightly restated) number of 75 for February. This was part of the standard monthly update by DEEP.

There were increases across the board, which could be reflective of the economic recovery, but certainly, something to watch.

The most rebates again went to the Toyota Prius Prime with 33, up from 22 in February. This was followed by the Tesla Model 3 with 31, up from 2. The Model 3, as we’ve seen before, is volatile since only the base trim level is eligible. The only other vehicle to hit at least 20 was the Chevy Bolt at exactly that number. Most of them were the 2020 Bolts which GM has been heavily discounting.

The other vehicles in double digits were the Toyota RAV4 Prime (18), Hyundai Kona (15), Nissan Leaf Plus (11), Tesla Model Y (10). The Leaf Plus is the longer-range Leaf. The appearance of the Model Y is ephemeral as the standard range option is no longer being made available by Tesla. That may change, but we have no information on whether that will definitively happen or what the timing may be.

There is still no word on the implementation of the new CHEAPR program with higher rebate levels and new, income-limited incentives. We have been advised that the board has not been able to sync schedules for a meeting to review the new material, nor do we know if the consultant has finished with the software development. We asked DEEP if they could give us a rough estimate, but have not received a response.

Spend Level Remains Low

It has been our expectation that the program would underspend again in 2021 and that was when we expected the new program might be live by early April. After 1 quarter, the spend is $310,500 against a statutory pace budget of $750,000, and an actual pace budget (including the rollover of unspent 2020 funds) of $1,300,000.