(The Center Square) – Minnesota passed an electric vehicle rebate program to provide up to a $2,500 subsidy on top of the $7,500 federal subsidy so more people will buy EVs, but the program isn’t active yet.
“We do not yet have an estimate for a program launch date,” Minnesota Department of Commerce Communications Director Mo Schriner told The Center Square in an email.
Minnesota is second in the EV Midwest registration race with 41,417 EVs behind Illinois with 80,000.
Lawmakers gave EVs about $17 million over two years. That includes $7 million for EV school bus grants, $5.6 million the first year for the EV rebate program and $5.1 million the second year, $1 million for grants to automobile dealers seeking certification to sell EVs and to reimburse the reasonable costs incurred by the department to administer the grants.
It’s unclear how many vehicle purchases funding will subsidize. Other state EV programs range, according to an analysis by The Center Square.
- New York State: 106,282 EV rebates costing $115.6 million.
- Oregon: 27,849 rebates costing $78 million
- New Jersey: 22,448 vehicle rebates and will spend $82 million
- Illinois: 4,873 EV rebates for $19 million
Minnesota is beating Michigan (34,380), Ohio (34,060), Missouri (17,810) and Indiana (17,710) in EV registrations, but is still 958,583 EV registrations short of fulfilling the state climate plan goal to reach 1 million EVs on the roads by 2030.
To reach that goal, Minnesota would need to register 136,940 vehicles each year until 2030, or 11,411 vehicles every month for the next seven years.
The office of Gov. Tim Walz didn’t respond to a request for comment about how the state plans to meet the goal of improving air quality.
An electric vehicle may qualify for a rebate, $2,500 for a new vehicle or $600 for a used one if it is:
- Bought on or after May 25, 2023.
- The purchaser can provide documents verifying the purchase.
- New electric vehicle costs $55,000 base MSRP or less (not including taxes and fees)
- Used: electric vehicle with a cost of $25,000 or less (not including taxes and fees)
When the program launches, completed applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program to fund smart charger installation along designated corridors to provide reliable, long-distance EV travel. Initially, states must spend the funds to build federally designated Alternative Fuel Corridors that will provide fast chargers every 50 miles within 1 mile of the AFC and provide at least four 150 kilowatt direct current fast chargers that are capable of simultaneously charging 4 EVs.
Minnesota will receive $68 million in federal funds from the NEVI Formula Program over five years. There is also a 20% non-federal match requirement ($17 million).
The plan identifies potential locations along Minnesota’s two existing Alternatives Fuel Corridors, Interstates 35 and 94, where the agency will initially work with third parties to install fast chargers.
