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There are just a few weeks left for federal discounts on electric vehicles. Tax credits worth up to $7,500 expire at the end of September under President Trump's tax and spending bill. The deadline has led to a spike in EV sales and whiplash for auto dealers. Sam Brasch of Colorado Public Radio reports.
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SAM BRASCH, BYLINE: Scott Nelson has wanted an EV for years, but the Denver resident only started taking test drives after realizing the federal tax credit wasn't going stick around for much longer.
SCOTT NELSON: Over the last, probably, three weeks, I've been really doing the research. So, yeah, it's really been kind of fast-tracked.
BRASCH: Nelson is behind the wheel of a Volkswagen ID.4, an all-electric SUV. Matt Foster sits in the passenger seat. He sells cars at Emich Volkswagen in Denver.
MATT FOSTER: We are the No. 1 ID.4 dealership in the country. So, yes (laughter), we've seen a big increase.
BRASCH: It's a pattern playing out nationwide. Drivers are rushing to grab EVs before the $7,500 federal tax credit expires. It's extra easy to apply the incentive to leases. The credit was authorized under former President Biden to boost climate-friendly technologies. President Trump worked with Congress to scrap it. In Colorado, buyers get an even better deal. The state has its own EV tax credits, and dealers like Foster bundle everything together into eye-popping leases for cars like the ID.4.
FOSTER: Our ad special is at $39 with $2,000 due at signing.
BRASCH: $39 a month.
FOSTER: That is correct.
BRASCH: The total is more like a hundred dollars per month after taxes. That's still a fraction of the average lease payment in the U.S. Those low prices kick-started an EV boom in Colorado. Last fall, the state briefly eclipsed California in EV market share. But that's about to change. The federal tax credit is going away, and the state credit is shrinking. That's left local car dealers nervous about the future.
MATT GROVES: Anything that makes cars more expensive is bad for dealers, right?
BRASCH: Matt Groves leads the Colorado Auto Dealers Association. Dealers make money on volume by selling as many cars as possible. And Grove says the subsidies brought more customers into showrooms.
GROVES: Now, we were hoping that these tax credits were going to stick around long enough that we could find price parity between EVs and internal combustion vehicles. That didn't happen.
BRASCH: Which means Colorado dealers will likely market fewer EVs once the credits are gone. Analysts expect EV sales nationwide will be significantly lower over the next decade because of the rollbacks. But in Colorado, some dealers wish the government wasn't stepping back.
ED OLSEN: It's been such a good ride, I guess, over the last year and a half or so.
BRASCH: Ed Olsen is the sales manager at Boulder Nissan. His dealership pioneered the concept of rock-bottom EV leases in Colorado. Last summer, for example, it offered an all-electric Nissan Leaf for $9 per month before taxes and fees.
OLSEN: Our volume was so big, it made a lot of sense for us, because we, all of a sudden, were selling five times as many cars we were, you know, the month before.
BRASCH: It's a strategy Olsen can use for a few more weeks. Ahead of the deadline, his lot is packed bumper to bumper with all-electric Nissan Ariyas.
OLSEN: My goal here was to just try to stock what we're going to sell.
BRASCH: Wow. And how long do you think it'll take to clear this many cars?
OLSEN: Well, I need to hopefully have them all done by September 30. I'd like to not have any of them come October.
BRASCH: After that, he says his dealership will return to its old business model - selling gas cars and used vehicles.
For NPR News, I'm Sam Brasch in Boulder, Colorado.
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