Jukka Kukkonen, electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering, recently spoke with MPR about Minnesota’s new rebate for new and used electric vehicles.
From the interview:
Host: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. These state and federal rebates are supposed to make it easier to buy an electric vehicle. How does it buy down the cost of a car?
Kukkonen: Well, it does provide good incentives for people to look at the EVs. I’m not sure how many people buy a new car because they get $2,500 tax break or used for $600, but I think this increases the discussion about the topic and hopefully makes more people test-drive the cars, because that’s where the difference is made.
Host: So get out there and literally kick some tires. Any research done about incentives as enough to get people out of their gas-powered cars and into an EV?
Kukkonen: Clearly they have an impact, they definitely do. People are test-driving the cars and checking them out. We’ve seen increasing sales in those states where the incentives are available.
