A California project designed to stimulate the purchase and use of medium- and heavy-duty hybrid trucks and buses has opened for business at www.CaliforniaHVIP.org.
The nearly $20 million Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP) was created by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to help California truck and bus buyers to buy these advanced, low-emission vehicles by providing vouchers to directly reduce their cost.
HVIP provides buyers with purchase vouchers ranging from $10,000 to $45,000 per eligible vehicle. However, vouchers are only available on a first-come, first-served basis, and buyers (fleets) are limited to no more than 100 vouchers each.
CALSTART is administering the HVIP program for CARB and operates the CaliforniaHVIP.org website to support fleet, dealer, and manufacturer involvement in the program. All voucher applications are made online by truck dealers working with a truck buyer.
HVIP is the nation’s first program to directly reduce the upfront cost of hybrid vehicles for fleets that purchase and operate them in California. The HVIP voucher cuts about half the incremental cost of purchasing early production hybrid heavy-duty trucks and buses, helping owners buy this cleaner new technology when production volumes are still low and prices high. The estimated 800 vehicles HVIP should place on the road mean more US manufacturing and technology jobs.
CALSTART is a member-supported organization of more than 140 firms, fleets, and agencies worldwide dedicated to supporting a growing high-tech, clean transportation industry that cleans the air, creates jobs, cuts imported oil, and reduces global warming emissions. It operates a major national program, the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), in partnership with the US Army, which has sped production of hybrid trucks now eligible under the HVIP program.
Visit www.calstart.org for more information.