The state of Washington has announced financial aid for middle-income residents wanting to buy or lease electric vehicles. “We want to democratize EVs,” said Gov. Jay Inslee (D) at an event April 23 in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila.  

Washington is the first state in the nation to fund electric vehicle leasing for people with modest incomes, said Mike Fong, director of Washington’s Department of Commerce, which will handle the grant program. The program is a way to deal with electric cars’ high costs and assist those who fall under certain income thresholds. 

The legislature set aside $45 million for fiscal 2024-25 for this program from its revenue from Washington’s cap-and-invest program. To be eligible for assistance, an individual or family can earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level: no more than $45,180 annually for a single person or $93,600 for a family of four. 

The new program will provide up to $9,000 in an “instant rebate” program for leasing a new electric vehicle for up to three years. It also provides $5,000 for buying a new electric vehicle or leasing one for two years. The program also provides $2,500 for buying or leasing a used electric vehicle. 

The state estimates that four electric vehicle models will lease for less than $100 a month, while the most leased gas internal combustion cars cost roughly $500 a month. 

Inslee said: “We know once people buy these vehicles, they stick with them.” 

“Transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollution,” Fong said. “It is important that people who live in our most impacted communities, which tend to be urban and lower-income, have access to cleaner transportation options, including the choice of EV ownership. These rebates can help many more people all across the state buy or lease an EV.” 

According to the Department of Commerce, anyone interested in the program would go directly to an EV dealer to learn about offers available in the state’s instant rebate program. If the consumer qualifies under the income requirements, the dealer “deducts the applicable rebate amount from the cost of the lease and then applies dealer, state and local fees to arrive at the total lease amount.” There’s no sales tax because EVs qualify for the state’s zero-emission vehicles exemption.