California should focus EV incentives on low-income drivers

OPINION – New research shows that California’s existing electric vehicle (EV) tax credits mostly benefit high-income individuals, while largely failing to reach other Californians. This is a problem for both our climate and people’s pocketbooks. Targeting EVs to low-income, high-mileage households would not only save low-to-middle-income Californians hundreds of dollars a year on fuel costs but also help cut emissions faster and more efficiently.

Coltura’s analysis found that the nearly 2 million California drivers in the top 10% nationally for gasoline use—known as “Gasoline Superusers”—consume on average five times more gasoline than other drivers and have the greatest potential to make a significant impact by transitioning to EVs. Many of these drivers live where transit options are few, and commutes are long because affordable housing is far from big cities where most jobs are. They face a significant financial burden from gasoline expenses. The study found that 38.4% of California Superuser households earn below the state median income of $85,300 and spend more than a quarter of their monthly income on gasoline.

Switching to an EV would save these low- and middle-income, high-mileage families an average of $589 a month on fuel (savings from gasoline minus electricity expenditures), plus hundreds more on maintenance. But as it stands, these drivers aren’t the ones switching to EVs and seeing these benefits.

The findings emphasize the need to tweak our state’s approach to EV incentives. Assemblymember Phil Ting proposed new legislation (AB 2401) to modernize the state’s existing Clean Cars 4 All (CC4A) program by directing higher EV rebates to lower-income, high-mileage drivers with older (pre-2004), high-polluting vehicles and focusing program outreach on these drivers. This approach not only accelerates emissions reduction but also addresses economic disparities in access to clean transportation.

The Greenlining Institute and Union of Concerned Scientists’ Cleaner Cars, Cleaner Air report found that despite making up only 19% of the vehicles in the state, pre-2004 vehicles emit three times as much smog-forming nitrogen oxides as all 2004 and later vehicles combined. Further, the study confirmed that communities with the highest exposure to pollution from pre-2004 vehicles are home to higher percentages of people of color and low-income households.

AB 2401 tackles a suite of problems facing our state: budget shortfalls, health-harming pollution, growing climate emissions from transportation, and the high costs many families face when it comes to transportation. AB 2401 doesn’t require additional funding in California’s budget—it simply reroutes incentives to the highest-need, highest-impact recipients. It’s a rare policy win-win.

This bill aligns our clean transportation strategy with the urgent need to reduce gasoline consumption and retire the dirtiest cars on the road. By targeting vehicles that contribute the highest emissions, California can make significant strides towards meeting its climate commitments while ensuring that the benefits of these programs lift up communities most in need and focus budget dollars on an effective program.

California is already leading the nation in addressing climate change, in part through the transition to EVs. In recent weeks, we’ve celebrated significant achievements in our efforts to cut climate pollution, expand the use of clean energy, and improve the quality of our air and water. As we tackle the biggest challenges related to the cost and climate impact of transportation, this strategy will help us save Californians money now and in the future—and could serve as a model for the rest of the country.

Roman Partida-López is the Senior Legal Counsel for Transportation Equity for the Greenlining Institute. Janelle London is the Co-executive director for Coltura.