www.cga.ct.gov/olr
OLRequest@cga.ct.gov
Connecticut General Assembly
Office of Legislative Research
Stephanie A. D’Ambrose, Director
(860) 240-8400
Room 5300
Legislative Office Building
Electric Vehicle Incentives in
Connecticut and Massachusetts
By: Heather Poole, Principal Analyst
November 30, 2021 | 2021-R-0201
Issue
Compare state incentives for purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) and installing charging stations in
Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Summary
Connecticut and Massachusetts currently offer rebate programs for EV purchases and leases and
grant programs for EVs and EV charging infrastructure.
The Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program and the
Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) program both provide rebates to
buyers or lessees of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and
fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), but each program’s eligible applicants, rebate amounts, and
other terms differ. Overall, the standard rebate in Connecticut is generally less generous than that
in Massachusetts, but income-eligible residents in Connecticut may qualify for higher rebates.
Connecticut offers only one grant program for EVs, which helps cover the cost of replacing diesel
vehicles with EV equivalents, while Massachusetts offers several programs, mainly for purchasing
or installing EV charging infrastructure.
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Rebate Programs
Overview
Both CHEAPR and MOR-EV offer incentives for the same types of vehicles and set similar maximum
vehicle values, but they differ in several aspects. The standard rebate in Connecticut is generally
less generous than that in Massachusetts, but Connecticut offers additional rebates to income-
eligible applicants that result in a higher total rebate amount. Additionally, Massachusetts does not
offer incentives for used vehicles and Connecticut does not offer incentives for vehicles purchased
out-of-state (except for Tesla).
Table 1 provides a brief comparison of the CHEAPR and MOR-EV programs, and more detail on
each program follows.
Table 1: CHEAPR and MOR-EV At A Glance
CHEAPR
MOR-EV
Connecticut Residents
Massachusetts residents and owners of
commercial and nonprofit fleets
PHEVs, BEVs, and FCEVs
PHEVs, BEVs, and FCEVs
$42,000 (PHEV & BEV)
$60,000 (FCEV)
$49,999
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
$7,000
$2,500
$1,500
$2,500
Yes
No
Generally, no
Yes
$723,500
$5.7 million
Sources: CHEAPR Implementation Manual; MOR-EV Implementation Manual; CHEAPR statistics; MOR-EV statistics
CHEAPR
General Parameters. CHEAPR offers incentives to Connecticut residents who purchase or lease
an eligible PHEV, BEV, or FCEV from a Connecticut dealer or from an original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) that does not have a dealer in the state (e.g., Tesla). Lists of specific eligible
new and used vehicle models are available on the CHEAPR website. The base manufacturer’s
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suggested retail price (MSRP) for these eligible vehicles must not exceed $42,000 for PHEVs and
BEVs or $60,000 for FCEVs.
Rebates are provided through three programs: Standard, Rebate+ New, and Rebate+ Used. A
person purchasing or leasing a new eligible vehicle from a Connecticut car dealer or from an OEM
must file a CHEAPR application with the dealer or OEM, and the Standard rebate is credited to the
final purchase or lease.
Rebate+ funds are available for purchasing or leasing a new or used eligible vehicle and must be
applied for separately, with funding paid directly to the recipient after the purchase or lease. In the
case of new vehicles, Rebate+ funds are in addition to funds provided through the Standard rebate.
The Rebate+ program is available to people who participate in certain income qualified programs
(e.g., Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)).
All rebate recipients must retain ownership of their vehicles for, or lease them for a term of, at least
24 consecutive months.
Rebate Amounts and Limits. Connecticut residents who purchase EVs are eligible for up to
$7,000 in rebates, depending on the rebate program and type of vehicle purchased. Table 2 shows
the rebate amounts that are scheduled to go into effect after December 31, 2021. Individuals are
eligible for two CHEAPR rebates, but the second cannot be redeemed until 24 months after the
initial approval.
Table 2: CHEAPR Rebate Amounts by Program Beginning in 2022
Standard
Rebate+ New*
Rebate+ Used
PHEV
$500
$1,500
$750
BEV
$1,500
$2,000
$2,000
FCEV
$5,000
$2,000
$5,000
Source: CHEAPR Implementation Manual
*Rebate+ New amounts are added to the Standard amounts
According to the CHEAPR website, the CHEAPR board temporarily increased the Standard and
Rebate+ Used rebate amounts for all vehicle types purchased or leased from June 7, 2021, to
December 31, 2021. As a result, program applicants may be eligible for up to $9,500 in rebates
during this period, while funds are available. More information on the increases is available on
CHEAPR’s Frequently Asked Questions page.
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Program Funding. Since January 1, 2020, CHEAPR has been funded by revenue from the
greenhouse gas reduction fee charged on motor vehicle registrations, and the law requires the first
$3 million of fee receipts collected each fiscal year to be directed to CHEAPR (CGS § 22a-201c).
Prior to this change, the program was funded through commitments by American Electric Power
Service Corporation, Eversource Energy and Avangrid.
According to the statistics provided on the CHEAPR website, it awarded $723,500 in rebates for
applications filed in 2020 and $1.3 million in rebates for applications filed from January 2021
through September 2021 (the most recent month of available data).
MOR-EV
General Parameters. MOR-EV provides rebates to individual Massachusetts residents and in-
state commercial and nonprofit vehicle fleet owners who purchase or lease an eligible, new PHEV,
BEV, and FCEV with a purchase price less than $50,000. A list of specific eligible vehicle models is
available on MOR-EV’s website. Rebates are available for new vehicles only, but eligible applicants
may acquire them from in or out-of-state.
Individuals, businesses, and nonprofits apply for a rebate after taking possession of the eligible
vehicle, and funds are sent directly to recipients. Rebate recipients must retain vehicle ownership
for, or lease for a term of, at least 36 consecutive months.
Rebate Amounts and Limits. The rebate amount is (1) $2,500 for BEVs and FCEVs and (2)
$1,500 for PHEVs. Fleet owners are eligible for 10 rebates per calendar year and 20 over the
program’s lifetime.
Program Funding. In the state’s 2019 supplemental budget bill, the legislature allocated $27
million in each of FYs 20 and 21 from Massachusetts’ share of the proceeds of the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative (2019 Mass. Legis. Serv. Ch. 142 § 95).
According to the statistics provided on the MOR-EV website, the program awarded $5.7 million in
rebates for applications filed in 2020 and $9.1 million in rebates for applications filed from January
2021 to September 2021 (the most recent month of available data).
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Grant Programs
Connecticut
Connecticut’s Diesel Emissions Mitigation program provides grants to (1) public and private entities
to cover the costs of replacing diesel vehicles and equipment with EV equivalents and (2) other
diesel emissions reduction projects. Grants are awarded in rounds, and the most recent round ($10
million) closed on September 30, 2021. Funding for this program comes from the state’s proceeds
from a settlement with Volkswagen (VW). More information on the program is available on the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s website.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts offers more grant programs for EVs and EV charging infrastructure than Connecticut
does. The following grant programs, most of which are through the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle
Incentive Program (MassEVIP), provide funds to public and private entities primarily for charging
stations, but in some cases vehicles as well:
1. MassEVIP Direct Current Fast Charging Incentives program, which provides funding to
property owners with publicly accessible parking and educational campuses to cover EV fast
charging station hardware and installation;
2. MassEVIP Fleets program, which provides grants to eligible public entities for leasing or
purchasing EVs for their fleets;
3. MassEVIP Multi-Unit Dwelling and Educational Campus Charging Incentives program, which
provides grants for the hardware and installation of charging stations at multi-unit dwellings
and educational campuses;
4. MassEVIP Public Access Charging program, which provides funding to non-residential
property owners with publicly accessible parking to cover charging station hardware and
installation;
5. MassEVIP Workplace and Fleet Charging Incentives program which provides funding for
employers and fleet operators to acquire and install charging stations; and
6. VW Open Solicitation Grant program, which provides grants to public and private entities for
projects that will reduce diesel emissions (including replacing diesel vehicles and equipment
with all-electric ones).
A comparison of the MassEVIP programs is available on its website.
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