Bay Area Grant Program Offers $9500 to Trade Your Gasoline Car for an EV

• The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Clean Cars for All program is for customers in targeted ZIP codes who meet income requirements. The program offers $5500 to $9500 to spend on a new or used plug-in electric or hydrogen vehicle for those who turn in a 2005 or earlier car.

• The program was started in 2019 and was popular, but it ran out of money. It was funded with an additional $8.3 million recently, so the incentive floodgates are back open.

• Clean Cars for All is funded by California's cap-and-trade program, taking money from polluting industries and, in this case, giving it to lower-income residents.

We might have a new champion for the best place to live if you want to maximize the amount of government incentives you can get when you buy an electric vehicle. While everyone in the U.S. could be eligible for the federal tax credit worth up to $7500 for a new EV, states and cities have been offering various benefits in addition to the federal credit, and the revived incentive package from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) in California could reduce the price some residents pay for a new or used EV by a serious $9500.

An expansion to the Clean Cars for All incentive program was announced this week, thanks to $8.3 million in new state funding. Clean Cars for All was originally started in 2019 but was out of money until the state authorized new spending in this year's budget. The money will not be limited to just helping car buyers, either. Instead, the BAAQMD has developed a broad set of benefits locals can get if they voluntarily take their old, dirty vehicle off the road. These benefits include grants to buy a new or used hybrid or plug-in car, similar to the old Cash for Clunkers deal that was developed under President Bush and signed by President Obama, but people who take advantage of Clean Cars for All can also opt to get a grant to buy a new electric bike or simply a prepaid card worth thousands of dollars to ride local transportation. The BAAQMD isn't joking about taking old vehicles off the road, either. The final step in the grant process is taking the old car to an authorized dismantler, once you've gotten your new, greener ride.