Car and SUV buyers are getting closer to a first-ever tax credit for used and certified pre-owned electric vehicles, which ideally helps expand EVs from a just a luxury splurge to mass-market uptake. But in addition to tight supplies that make both new and used conventional cars and EVs harder to come by, consumers must consider time spent searching for inventory, battery range and degradation, a different maintenance schedule than they’re used to and other factors as they look to replace Earth-warming vehicles routinely impacted by volatile gas prices
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-0.76%.
Congress has passed legislation that devotes more than $360 billion to climate-change efforts, including a conditional $4,000 tax incentive to use toward previously owned electric vehicles and a $7,500 credit for new EVs. The Democratic-run House approved the bill on Friday, and the Senate gave its OK on Sunday. The measure is now expected to get signed into law quickly by President Joe Biden. Read: Thinking about an EV? First-ever $4,000 tax credit for used electric vehicles, and $7,500 for new, nears approval Passage is seen as a major effort toward increasing access to EVs across income levels and using them for multiple purposes, sending one with a kid off to college, for instance, compared with premium EVs like Tesla
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and Lucid
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+3.15%,
which initially dominated the market. In fact, more competition from used versus new offerings could benefit consumers. Pressure on auto makers to rush to meet market demand has decreased EV quality, a recent J.D. Power report says. And car makers are increasingly considering wider price points. “The addition of new EV models has moved the needle on consumer consideration,” said Stew …