Georgia EV Supporters Prepare To Defend State Credit In 2015

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: October 22nd, 2014

georgia ev supporters prepare to defend state credit in 2015

EV supporters in Georgia are gearing up to save the state’s tax credit from the chopping block after nearly losing it earlier this year.

According to WABE-FM, the city of Atlanta is second in the EV ownership game in the United States, falling behind the technocratic capital that is San Francisco. The high ranking is due to the state’s credit of up to $5,000 on EVs, helping to take off $12,500 from the bottom line when the $7,500 federal credit is taken into account.

Were the state credit have been cut, EV sales would fall dramatically. EV Club of the South board member Michael Beinenson says the credit — and not wanting to feel like Ed Begley Jr. — is the main draw for consumers in Georgia. He also hopes that the credit’s terms are merely changed instead of the entire credit being guillotined when the state’s legislature meets again next year, and is preparing to defend it to the bitter end with other like-minded supporters.

The credit was set to be removed from the books in 2014, citing lost revenue in the millions of dollars as the reason; the bill that would have made it so died hours before the 2014 session drew to a close.

#2014 #2015 #EVs #Georgia #Legislation #PHEVs #TaxCredits

Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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17 comments

FormerFF on Oct 22, 2014

From what I can tell, there is no Georgia tax credit on PHEVs.

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Jeoff on Oct 22, 2014

Yeah, no PHEVs, but it does include leases--which is why you can find "Lease a Leaf for free in Georgia" postings all over the internet. Not really sure that this is the best way for the state to spend its tax dollars. Still, as long as the state is offering "free cars", I might as well pick one up, and limit the old minivan to occasional use.

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- Jeoff on Oct 22, 2014
  
  Btw, Ford missed a huge opportunity in Georgia by not marketing its Ford Focus electric here. Assuming that they are not losing money on each one, they could have leased a ton. Intown, there are probably a half dozen Leafs on each block, maybe more--but most leaf owners do not even know that Ford builds an electric, and if you call a dealership about the FFE... well, they are not much help.
  
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- FormerFF on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @jeoff I don't think Ford is interested in selling the FFE in any volume, it's more of a "test the waters" kind of thing, where they can get some real world data. I'm not sure it's not a better approach than Nissan's, I'm still wondering what NMAC is going to do with all those off-lease LEAFs. Ford's main market in electrified cars is in the hybrid and plug in hybrid areas. They'll probably sell close to 80,000 hybrids and 20,000 plug in hybrids this year.
  
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- Jeoff on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @FormerFF "Testing the waters should have" gone out the window as soon as anyone at Ford noticed that the state of Georgia was picking up the tab for the leases. And these are not just "greens" that are buying these cars in Georgia--just folks wanting a free car that cost almost nothing to run (I've noticed a whole lot of Asians in the suburbs are getting them too). Even if they were just breaking even on the cars, I think it was foolish not actively marketing them in Georgia for the past two years--just the dent it could have made in the fuel efficiency stats for Ford's fleet would have been worth it.
  
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- Bosozoku on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @FormerFF "I’m still wondering what NMAC is going to do with all those off-lease LEAFs." They'll be refurb'd in the US and then sent to Norway, where electric cars are essentially sold un-taxed and thus are hugely popular right now. It's actually a brilliant solution.
  
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- Jeoff on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @bosozoku Ok, after looking in to it, the Nissan Leaf is just now "almost profitable"--after selling 140K units worldwide.--guessing the FFE will never be close to being profitable--although their R&D should be much less, being an electrified version of an existing car with a drivetrain built and developed by a third-party. (Note: Ford just dropped the price of the 2014 and 2015 FFE to about 30K).
  
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95_SC on Oct 22, 2014

I'm relocating to Augusta soon so if this is still out there I am going to give it a look. Didn't know Georgia had this credit.

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- Cdotson on Oct 22, 2014
  
  I used to live in the Augusta area. I highly recommend Columbia county vs. the city or Richmond county, and its still close enough to the city to be commutable well within the range of a Leaf. I was fortunate to live and work in Columbia county and not have to go downtown often.
  
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- FormerFF on Oct 22, 2014
  
  It does make for a low cost LEAF lease, once you figure the incentive and fuel cost savings, but it certainly is not "free", especially when you have to pay TAVT on the value of the car.
  
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- Bosozoku on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @FormerFF That's what stopped me from jumping into a Leaf lease. That, and I don't make enough to take advantage of the tax rebate in a single year, and the Leaf is a mediocre car once you get past the electric novelty.
  
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- Mcs on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @bosozoku >> the Leaf is a mediocre car once you get past the electric novelty Interesting. Which version did you drive? What modes did you try?
  
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- Qa on Oct 23, 2014
  
  @mcs I have one and it's actually not mediocre as it looks. I have the base model and it has a great ride (probably because it's a bit heavy) and decent handling (due to low center of gravity) and dead quiet (like a luxury car). Heated seats and steering, back up camera are nice touches. I'm over 6 ft tall so the high seating really makes it easy to get in and out. We have 4 cars at home and the Leaf is the most sought after. In fact, I've exceeded my miles on the lease by 25% because everyone in our household is fighting to drive this car. It appears that Nissan designed this from the ground up. I wish they went with rear wheel drive with 50/50 weight distribution.
  
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Stingray65 on Oct 22, 2014

Once some group gets to suck the government teet, they get mighty noisy if the taxpayers who pay for it try to take it away.

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- Dr. Kenneth Noisewater on Oct 22, 2014
  
  Yeah, like the oil companies and banksters...
  
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- Jdogma on Oct 22, 2014
  
  @Dr. Kenneth Noisewater No, like the people in the article. Taxes are a much larger part of the price of gasoline than the oil company profit, FYI. Bankers are not my favorite group, but they are not sucking the government teat.
  
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- Stuki on Oct 23, 2014
  
  @jdogma How could sitting around having the Fed debase everyone else's savings and handing the proceeds to you free of charge, possibly be construed as sucking the government's teat....? I mean, those guys just produce sooooo much value and all... Like, without them getting billions and trillions of freshly printed dollars in exchange for nothing, that scary guy called the "financial system" would fail and stuff, so they must really be important! That's what the man on TV says, after all; and like all good, well indoctrinated progressive dronelings, we just know the man on TV is an expert and we should, like, listen to him and stuff....
  
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