By CorvetteGuy
A webinar held Tuesday by the Center for Sustainable Energy California outlined the qualification requirements and application procedures for the upcoming 2012 Chevrolet Volt with the “Low Emissions Package” which qualifies for new incentives.
As explained on the CSEC Web site, purchasers of the 2012 Volt, (new models that begin production next month) will be able to take advantage of an additional rebate of $1,500 from the State of California through the CSEC. In addition, this modified Volt will qualify for the coveted green HOV lane sticker.
Those who complete the application after their purchase and provide the three required pieces of documentation will be mailed a rebate check for $1,500.
As of today there is about $8.3 Million still available for Californians through this program. In a similar fashion to the Federal Tax Credit Program, this $1,500 rebate cannot be used at the time of purchase toward the purchase price. This is a rebate, (with restrictions that I will get to in a moment) that is mailed directly to the consumer after the fact.
Here are the eligibility requirements:
There are two noteworthy restrictions:
1) The buyer has to reside or have a business in California. Customers from out-of-state can’t stop in to pick up a Volt and then leave the state with it.
2) It is a contractual requirement that the vehicle stays in California for a minimum of 36 months, which they went into detail about. They will be checking with the California DMV to verify registration of the Volt in California for three years. If they discover the vehicle has been registered in another state, they can and will get their money back from you.
Applying for the rebate is easy through their Web site.
Just go to their Web site, click the link to the application form and go for it.
You will be asked to provide three pieces of documentation: 1) Your vehicle registration, 2) proof of residency, 3) your purchase Contract or lease documents. Business purchasers have an additional document that they have to provide.
Remember, this California rebate only applies to the new 2012 Volts with the “Low Emissions Package” and is not retro-active to previous models. Also, there is no conversion kit or dealer modification available to make existing Volts compliant with the new restrictions to this program.
The new 2012 Volt is not yet shown on the CARB Web site for qualification for the HOV lane stickers but it will be in early 2012.
If the only thing keeping you from placing your order with a Chevy Dealer was the HOV Sticker and more government subsidies, well, you’re out of excuses now!
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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+8
Dec 22nd, 2011 (7:07 am)Great article, CorvetteGuy!
That is excellent news for you guys out west, but I am out of that area by over a thousand miles, so I hope all Californian vehicle buyers will choose the Chevy Volt and the future Cadillac ELR over any of the foreign electric or hybrid vehicles. We need more state-supported incentives like this so America can get electrified sooner, cut back on oil imports, and cut back on vehicle imports, too.
Raymond
+6
Dec 22nd, 2011 (7:31 am)Wind energy in other states is also the key to keeping as much of our financial interest at home.
Texas also has lots of wind energy available overnight. Perhaps it might be a good idea for the owners of Wind Farms to find a way to contract directly with electric motorists for them to buy wind generation overnight.
It is not realistic for leadership in the various States to listen any longer to past influences regarding “What pays the bills around here” (fossil fuel taxation). Leadership in the various States ought to closely view these new ways to generate State income and county income by taking a sharp pencil and crunching the numbers like California does (and financially must anyway).
Leadership in other States need to better organize to claim lost wind energy revenue from the overnight charging perspective. (It would be a much faster return and paid monthly from overnight charging from electric motorists. It is also so much more efficient, more local spending money would be available and would generate more tax revenues more instantly as well.)
So, California has set a fifteen hundred dollar incentive on the table. What’s the return on that investment (which does tip the scale for far more people to consider and buy electric motoring in some form). Well, at least half of it comes back to each state instantly at point of sale, because of what extra a customer is paying for the electrification tech as compared to ancient ICE tech. Half of the return on investment is assured.
The rest of the calculations are already on the table and have been discussed in Legislatures everywhere.
Lots of contributors here could have the remainder of the answers on a State and County level in just a few minutes and post them here, to provide a benchmark starting point for the various State leaders all over the country. This would be a complete set of wise legislative proposals and bills for American economic unity.
For united we stand.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (8:21 am)Will the PiP get HOV access? (sorry to bring up the “P”-word)
What about the Fisker?
The website just says PHEV’s.
+3
Dec 22nd, 2011 (8:21 am)Good article ‘VetteMan!
I wonder what GM had to do technically to Volt to make this happen.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (8:47 am)The rebate is nice, but it’s the HOV sticker(s) that should help push Volt sales through the roof. What is it worth to save time by zooming past miles of jammed traffic helplessly stuck in long lines of clogged freeways. With the Volt, the longest commute can be accomplished each day without fear of range anxiety from a 100 mile EV battery.
For an enterprising company to take on the task of retrofitting older Volts for the HOV sticker, they would need to know the number of California residents who own a Volt and are willing to pay for a modification. If the numbers are low, it may never happen. If Chevrolet dealers could accomplish the task at a future upgrade visit, GM would have extremely grateful customers.
+3
Dec 22nd, 2011 (8:54 am)OT: CNET’s “2011 Tech Car of the Year Award ” was slimy, below-the-belt journalism!
CNET obviously decided on the Audi A7 even before the voting began. With the final vote count at 64% Volt, 24% Audi when they closed the voting Mon 12/19, I declare outright FOUL PLAY!
*CNET announces voting on 12/6: “Vote for the 2011 Tech Car of the Year” – http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57337778-48/vote-for-the-2011-tech-car-of-the-year/
**CNET announces winner on 12/21: “2011 Car Tech Awards: And the winner is…” – http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57345873-1/2011-car-tech-awards-and-the-winner-is../
/Hmmm… is Rupert Murdoch somehow involved with CNET?
+7
Dec 22nd, 2011 (9:10 am)After watching the video of the radio broadcast (yeah i said that right), it appears their decision making was based on looks alone. Since when do looks have anything to do with “Tech”? Also, they said that the Volt was too much in the future and the Audi was more “now”. Haha… do they not know they can buy a Volt “now”. Later on the same person said he liked the Audi better because its interface inside the car was more like the future and that’s what people want. WTF? The Audi won them over on its connectivity… um do they not know what Onstar is? They said the Volt’s technology is only about its powertrain and the Audi was the “Ipod” of cars. I don’t think they even drove the Volt.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (10:34 am)Bad journalism on CNET’s part – but not much different than all other journalism out there we all have to take (if we choose to listen). And the voting? Just for the people’s choice “sub award” – isn’t popular opinion and voting the actual decision itself?
It’s web sites like this which are where the real news is – with real world experience mixed with ideas and thoughts that occur out in the open. Not in some editorial back-room.
Oh – and for the above question – I did hear that the PiP will get the CA HOV lane access. Even though it burns gasoline during normal driving.
+4
Dec 22nd, 2011 (10:45 am)PIP “yes” Karma “no”. You have to have super low emissions when the engine is running. The GM engineers had to modify the exhaust to qualify. Also for Fisker there is a requirement for a 10 year/150,000 mile battery warranty. Good news for ALL Volt buyers is that GM isn’t asking a premium for this, which strongly suggests that it feels the battery will last this long.
This is a big deal in CA. It makes selling the Volt much easier since the HOV access stickers are worth $3K to $5K. And of course you’re eligible for a $1500 rebate. FYI at the moment the rebate check shows up withing a month or earlier.
+4
Dec 22nd, 2011 (10:45 am)Sorry for another OT so early in the thread, but I thought this was interesting & relevant, especially w/the post the other day about the CODA.
http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-hack-us-chamber-commerce-authorities-193523718.html
Chinese hack into the Chamber of Congress:
Here’s some high-lights (I wonder if China will get the Volt secrets after all)
A Chinese spy at Ford Motor Company downloaded thousands of files on hybrid engine design and gave them to the Chinese government, and a cyber attack traced to China allegedly stole design secrets to a U.S. stealth fighter jet.
Congressional leaders say China is engaged in economic espionage on a scale never seen before.
“You stack all of that up and I think there’s a case to be made that this may be the greatest transfer of wealth through theft and piracy in the history of the world and we are on the losing end of it,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Dec 22nd, 2011 (10:48 am)I don’t see it on the list but I think it is supposed to be. Maybe it’s because it isn’t available yet.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (10:51 am)How do you suppose the Leaf can meet the battery warranty??????
+3
Dec 22nd, 2011 (11:26 am)I think the HOV lane has been high-jacked. The original purpose of the High Occupancy Vehicle lane was to: lessen the total number of vehicles by encouraging carpooling. The implementation, monitoring and enforcement of HOV use are ridiculous! You would be better off just opening up access to all vehicles instead of wasting time and money implementing and enforcing those laws. New vehicles should have low-emission standards; there does not need to be an incentive to buy a low-emission petro burning engine vehicle. More expensive substantial electric-drive vehicles do need incentives for now to compete JMO. You either need a carrot or a stick to reduce petroleum burning in vehicles.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (11:42 am)I have always thought that myself, but there are a lot of weenies running California!
Dec 22nd, 2011 (11:43 am)#3
Yeah, wash your mouth out with soap, LOL.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (12:12 pm)Yes – we should be very careful. Are we sure the iPods don’t have some spying device hidden inside ?
+2
Dec 22nd, 2011 (12:14 pm)The battery warranty is needed only for hybrids – to make sure they continue to get the MPGe they claim. BEVs will either run with the rated MPGe or stop running.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (1:56 pm)kdawg,
Even funnier is that I would expect CNET to know the “ipod” is rather dated technology. No wonder they selected the Audi .. they are clueless.
Dec 22nd, 2011 (3:35 pm)As we know, the “P-word” HOV stickers have sunsetted (if that’s a word). I mentioned the other day that the same may be true for these. I believe that Statik responded and said that they sunset in 2014. Do we know if that’s true? Did the “webinar” speak to that? I read the other day that even the Civic NGV ones are going to sunset, which sort of surprised me.
I have to say that it doesn’t seem to have slowed down “P-word” sales in my neighborhood. I see a LOT of new ones. They did (do?) have quite a few 2011s left over though which they have been trying to sell off, although the prices don’t look all that friendly to me.
+2
Dec 22nd, 2011 (4:52 pm)Thx, EV I had forgotten that.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (6:50 pm)kdawg,
Wait til the Audi owner gets the update download bill for seven hours of factory download time.
They will pay, and pay dearly for their needed “connectivity”, which CNET has failed to research.
I have a hunch that CNET has been suffering from an “upstaged award effect”, wherein any award won so far after many other awards has the effect of a “We also [took this long to] judge that it is the best”-self-perceived diminished timing of the editorial sensation.
Of course they likely think that Volt is the best, but never has one vehicle won so much acclaim, which might have caused them a significant level of cognitive dissonance.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (9:18 pm)Agreed. They were probably just trying to be different, but in their hearts (and the hearts of the popular vote), they loved the Volt more. You could see them try to rationalize the Audi, but it was so hypocritical, it was humorous.
+1
Dec 22nd, 2011 (9:19 pm)They added that extra pump. Didn’t we have a post on this? I’ve had too many ginger ales at this point to look it up (no work tomorrow), but i’m pretty sure that’s the case.