California Denies Volt AT-PZEV Status, Tax Rebate, HOV Access

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

With Chevy’s Volt priced at an eye-popping $41k before tax breaks, those tax breaks are now more important than ever. The first 200k Volts will qualify for up to $7,500 in federal credits, but Chevrolet had to be hoping for state incentives on top of the federal credit, especially in the key launch state of California. For a number of reasons though, the Volt doesn’t meet California’s requirements for Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles, and will lose out on a $5,000 tax credit that’s available to its cheaper competitor, the Nissan Leaf. As a result, the Leaf will cost Californians who qualify for both full credits about $20k, while the Volt will cost about $33,500. Moreover, the Leaf will have full access to California’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes while the Volt will not, unless a pending bill before California’s state Senate passes. Together, these developments represent a serious advantage for the Leaf over the Volt in what is almost certain to be the world’s largest market for electric cars in the short-to-medium term. So how did GM let this happen?

Greencarreports‘ John Voelcker says California’s evaporative emissions standards may well have scuttled any attempt at certifying the Volt as an AT-PZEV, and regardless of the actual reason, it’s clear that the Volt’s hybrid drivetrain was a factor. The Volt’s range-extended electric drivetrain concept, which delivers very different results based on driving and charging patterns, is still confusing the EPA’s efficiency testers, and it seems the gas-electric compromise was never going to meet California’s strict standards. According to EVWorld

GM decided in 2007 when it committed to series production of the Volt, to not seek California Air Resources Board AT-PZEV certification. Instead, the decision was made to certify the car in all 50 United States. ARB certification would have required, both GM executives explained, additional testing and since California’s air quality regulators had yet to figure out how to classify the Volt, GM felt it was more important to continue the accelerated development program and get the car out by the Fall of 2010 then wait for ARB to come up with a way to categorize what will be for many drivers essentially an all-electric car, while for other who driver further distances each day, a hybrid.

In other words, because GM rushed the Volt to market, it put its wundercar at a devastating competitive disadvantage in its most crucial market. Luckily for the Volt, California’s fiscal crisis has already largely solved the problem. Facing a budget shortfall in the tens of billions of dollars, California has only funded its plug-in tax rebate by $4m, meaning that if Leaf drivers use all the available funding, only 820 cars would have been subsidized this year. Next year, California is expected to renew the program for only $8m, meaning only about 1,600 plug-in purchases will be covered. GM reckons that, with so little money at stake, it doesn’t need to bother certifying to the California standard until 2012. With more than a few eyeballs still bulging at the Volt’s $41k pricetag, however, GM could probably have used all the help it could possibly get.


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Safe as milk Safe as milk on Jul 29, 2010

    when did "series hybrid" become "range extender?" i applaud gm for bringing advanced tech to mass market. a series hybrid with lithium batteries is cutting edge. this is exactly why the most experienced car company in electrics, toyota, has held off from those technologies. from a purely economic point of view, you would have to be nuts to buy a volt. let's hope gm improves the price and performance at a very fast pace or the volt is doomed. how long until a plug-in prius hits the streets? 2012!

  • Eastcoastcar Eastcoastcar on Aug 01, 2010

    Typical GM. They rush the car and end up looking as stupid as ever. I still remember, as the GM bailout was being discussed in Congress and media, the head of the UAW waxed enthusiastically on TV news that the Tahoe had been given some sort of green excellence award. I sure hope that Volt buyers enjoy maintaining a 'rushed to production car,' that has not only a gas engine and all those components, plus the electrical system, including that long, heavy battery that costs about $3k to replace. You will know when you see Volts on the road that they are being driven by people with trust funds. GM is never going to get a decent car to market. The Chinese and Koreans and Japanese already eclipse, and have been to decades. If I drive a Volt, I'm advertising that I have 41k to throw away. And I did this in reality before, when I bought a GM Chevy Citation and watched that car die within about two years. I've experience with GM products that are 'rushed to market.' I won't pay to be their beta tester ever again. They can GIVE me a Volt and I will log everything about how it does and not charge them my hourly consulting rate, but I won't take out a loan to pay 3x the cost of the car (retail loan rates) to debug their product. Yes, I have no respect for GM at all. They make junk with nice paint jobs and crappy components that won't last. Gee, this used to be what we said about Japanese cars 40 years ago.

  • Kwik_Shift Hyunkia'sis doing what they do best...subverting expectations of quality.
  • MaintenanceCosts People who don't use the parking brake when they walk away from the car deserve to have the car roll into a river.
  • 3-On-The-Tree I’m sure they are good vehicles but you can’t base that on who is buying them. Land Rovers, Bentley’ are bought by Robin Leaches’s “The Rich and Famous” but they have terrible reliability.
  • SCE to AUX The fix sounds like a bandaid. Kia's not going to address the defective shaft assemblies because it's hard and expensive - not cool.
  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
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