On January 1st, 2025, DEEP announced that new incentive levels were added to the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) Program. The CHEAPR program provides a cash rebate at Point-of-Sale (POS) for Connecticut residents who lease or purchase a new eligible EV from a licensed Connecticut new car dealer costing up to $50,000.
Since the program’s start in 2015, CHEAPR has allowed for the purchase of almost 18,000 new/used battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, 28% of those purchased/leased in 2024 alone! Through new incentive levels, DEEP is working to make the process of getting an EV even easier in the days to come.
But What Exactly are These Incentive Levels?
An “incentive level” is a person’s eligibility to receive benefits (incentives) for achieving or being within a target range. In the case of CHEAPR, the incentive level is monetary and is determined by one’s income threshold. There are two incentive levels, Standard Incentives given to Connecticut residents of all income levels, and Rebate+ Incentives given to residents who are low to moderate income or a member of a distressed municipality and/or environmental justice (EJ) area. Finally, incentive levels are set according to vehicle technology, this means that residents get a greater incentive for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) than plug-in-hybrid models (PHEVs).
What has Changed with the Incentive Levels?
As of January 1st, there have been major changes to the incentive levels used for the last several years. The first of which is the choice to reduce the standard incentive from $2,250 to $1,500, the pre-pandemic level. The standard incentive was reduced in response to the electric vehicles market maturing since the CHEAPR program began, with a shrinking differential in cost for BEVs and PHEVs compared to current gas-powered vehicles.
Another change was that the Rebate+ Incentives have seen adjustment within the funding pool. For low to moderate income residents purchasing a new BEV, the Rebate+ New Incentive has changed from $2,000 to $3,000. Since low to moderate income residents also get the Standard Incentive on top of Rebate+, this means that they’ll receive a total incentive value of $4,500. The Rebate+ Used Incentive also saw a boost with low to moderate income residents receiving a $5,000 incentive versus the original $3,000 when purchasing a used BEV and PHEV.
To learn more about the other changes made to the incentive levels, please visit DEEP’s official CHEAPR website here: CHEAPR – Home.
What This Means for the Future of EVs
A change in incentives won’t electrify our highways immediately, 18,000 more EVs on the road still doesn’t hold a candle to the more than 2 million gasoline-powered vehicles registered in our state today. But the share is changing, Connecticut residents of all income levels are beginning to see the value that EVs hold and are acting on them.
Commissioner Dykes spoke to this , saying, “Connecticut drivers continue to increasingly opt for cleaner alternatives such as plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. In the last two years, electric vehicle registrations in our state have more than doubled, and CHEAPR is an incredibly popular and effective program that puts more drivers behind the wheel of an electric vehicle.”
EVs are no longer a privilege of the affluent, they have become more and more accessible to moderate and lower income groups in recent years and incentives such as CHEAPR remain just what they are, incentives. While these incentives may change in the future as vehicle prices fluctuate, CHEAPR will continue to be used as a means of making the EV market more affordable for all.
For more information on the CHEAPR incentive changes, read DEEP’s press release here: DEEP Reminds Connecticut Residents that New Incentive Levels for CHEAPR Program Began Jan 1 2025.
