Colorado Will Pay Some Residents $6,000 To Trade In Their Old Car For An EV

Photo: Nissan

These days, most new cars are out of reach for Americans who don’t earn six figures, and that includes the vast majority of electric cars. So in order to get more drivers behind the wheel of something more environmentally friendly, Colorado has announced an exchange program that gives owners of older gas and diesel vehicles a little extra money if they replace them with new EVs or plug-in hybrids.

Porsche’s Latest Concept Is The Sexy Electric EV HyperCar Of Our Dreams

CPR News reports that the new program, called Vehicle Exchange Colorado, will give buyers a rebate to use toward the purchase or lease of an EV or PHEV. Participants who get a new car will get $6,000, while those who go used will get $4,000. But if you’re planning to use the rebate to put a new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo in the garage of your Vail vacation home, we have some bad news. The program is meant to help people who aren’t super well-off.

To qualify, participants must already be part of other income-qualified programs or make no more than 80 percent of their county’s median income. So a person living in Denver County would qualify if they make $69,520 or less, while in Mesa County, the limit would be $48,720. Vehicles eligible for trade-in under the program must also be at least 12 years old or have failed an emissions test.

“This is a program that is very much designed to help recycle and replace those older high-emitting vehicles with electric vehicles,” Edward Piersa, program manager at the Colorado Energy Office, told CBR News. “In part due to cost, many low- to moderate-income people in Colorado have not had access to electric vehicles. This program will help bridge that gap.”

If your income is above the cut-off, though, don’t worry. You’re still eligible for the $5,000 state tax credit if you still think your house in Vail could use a Taycan Cross Turismo.