Leaf

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Nissan
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Hatchback

The Dallas Morning News recently announced that as of September 1, Texans can once again benefit from a rebate program that will cover electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel-cell and propane powered vehicles. Fleet owners need not apply and according to the Green Car Report, Teslas are not eligible either. This is due to the fact that they are not sold through franchised dealers and direct consumer selling is banned in Texas. The rulings regarding this may change at some point, but this is the current situation.

The program has been allocated $7.3-million and is allowed to allocate a maximum of 1,000 natural gas rebates and 2,000 electric and hydrogen fuel cell rebates. The program will end on May 31, 2019, or whenever the money has been used up. The rebates for cars and trucks running on compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas are $5,000 while EVs, hybrids and fuel cell cars get $2,500. This is in addition to the federal government's $7,500 tax credit offering. A previous incentive that ended in 2015 saw a good uptake of the 2,000 available electric car slots with only 104 remaining unclaimed by the end of the scheme.

The natural gas slots were less well subscribed with a mere 10% being used. This, according to Dallas News, was in part due to the fact that most cars of this type tend to be part of fleets which are not eligible for the rebate. A lack of charging stations is often cited as a reason for not choosing an EV, but with a constantly improving recharging infrastructure as well as increasing EV range capabilities these latest rebates may be snapped up rather more quickly than before.