3 ms·

Yes scrapping is a bit extreme and I'm sure someone will buy them for way below the residual value but I just used it to get the point across of the economics o

• mywittyname 10y ago
  > It just doesn't add up. Yes it does, you're just a variable: California requires car companies to sell a certain number of EVs in order to sell other cars in the state. So companies take their cheapest model, convert it into a passable EV, then their financing arm offers nice incentives to get them out the door and the parent company eats the difference as a cost of doing business in California.
  • tinbad 10y ago
    Exactly, what I mean by doesn't add up is not sustainable long term. I really wonder in 1-2 years from now when all these EVs flood the market. 3 year old Leafs already sell for 6-7k, crazy!
    • NotSammyHagar 10y ago
      California is not the only electric car market, I think they will phase out the subsidies there over time. They were jump starting the market in a useful direction. That's all that these rebates are trying to do. In July 2012, even the tesla model s had not come outer - that is slightly more than 4 years ago. Look at all the choices now! It's amazing to me how well cali rules plus the us tax subsidies kick started the market. People buy teslas, leafs, i3s everything in my northwest state and we don't have a state rebate or requirement like California. Leafs were ~$250/month here. You see tons of them; when they increase the range a bit, I predict sales will really go up.
    • epistasis 10y ago
      The tax subsidies were never meant to be a long term solution, so they don't need to be "sustainable," whatever you mean by that.