Question 1

United Kingdom

Accepted Answer

In January 2009, transport secretary Geoff Hoon said the British government would make GB£250 million (~US$375 million) available for consumer incentives to bring electric cars to market in the UK.[28] The plug-in grant scheme was first announced in January 2009 by the Labour Government. The coalition government, led by David Cameron, took office in May 2010 and confirmed their support of the grant on 28 July 2010. This confirmed that £43 million would be available for the first 15 months of the scheme, with the 2011 Spending Review confirming funding for the programme for the lifetime of the Parliament of around £300 million (~US$450 million).
Two subsidy programs were implemented, the Plug-in Car Grant, from January 2011, and the Plug-In Van Grant, from February 2012. Both offer buyers of eligible vehicles a purchase subsidy discounted at the point of purchase. As of December 2017, the number of eligible registered plug-in electric cars that have benefited with the subsidy totaled 127,509 units since the launch of the programme in 2011.[7] As of December 2016, the number of claims made through the Plug-in Van Grant scheme totaled 2,938 units since the launch of the programme in 2012.[23] As of December 2014, there were 1,467 electric cars and vans registered which were not eligible for the Plug-in Grant scheme.
 
Plug-in Car Grant
The Plug-in Car Grant programme started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the UK The programme reduces the up-front cost of eligible cars by providing a 25% grant towards the cost of new plug-in cars capped at GB£5,000 (US$7,450). From 1 April 2015, the purchase price cap was raised to cover up to 35% discount of the vehicle’s recommended retail price, up to the already existing £5,000 limit. This change means electric cars priced under GB£20,000, such as the Renault Zoe, are able to take advantage of most or all of the £5,000 discount. Both private and business fleet buyers are eligible for this grant which is received at the point of purchase.
The Vauxhall Ampera plug-in hybridis eligible for the Plug-in Car Grantscheme.
The subsidy programme is managed in a similar way to the grant made as part of the 2009 Car Scrappage Scheme, allowing consumers to buy an eligible car discounted at the point of purchase with the subsidy claimed back by the manufacturer afterwards. The government announced in April 2014 that funding for the full grant of up to GB£5,000 will remain in place until either 50,000 grants have been issued or 2017, whichever is first. Nevertheless, as forecasts estimated that the scheme would reached its 50,000 limit around November 2015, the government announced in August 2015 that the Plug-in Car Grant should continue until at least February 2016 for all plug-in cars with CO2 emissions of 75 g/km of under. The Government also announced that a minimum of GB£200 million (~US$300 million) has been made available to continue the Plug-in Car Grant.
Vehicles eligible for the subsidy must meet the following criteria:
Vehicle type: Only ultra-low emission cars are eligible (vehicle category M1). Motorbikes, quadricycles and vans are not covered.
Carbon dioxide exhaust emissions: Vehicles must emit equal or less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre driven.
Range: Electric vehicles (EVs) must be able to travel a minimum of 70 mi (110 km) between charges. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) must have a minimum all-electric range of 10 mi (16 km).
Minimum top speed: Vehicles must be able to reach a speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) or more.
Warranty: Vehicles must have a 3-year or 60,000 miles (97,000 km) vehicle warranty (guarantee) and a 3-year battery and electric drive train warranty, with the option of extending the battery warranty for an extra 2 years(‘drive train’ means the parts that send power from the engine to the wheels. These include the clutch, transmission (gear box), drive shafts, U-joints and differential).
Battery performance: Vehicles must have either a minimum 5-year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard, or extra evidence of battery performance to show reasonable performance after 3 years of use
Electrical safety: Vehicles must comply with certain regulations (UN-ECE Reg 100.00) that show that they are electrically safe.
Crash safety: To make sure cars will be safe in a crash, they must either have: EC whole vehicle type approval (EC WVTA, not small series) or evidence that the car has appropriate levels of safety as judged by international standards
In February 2015 the government announced that to take account of rapidly developing technology, and the growing range of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on the British market, the criteria for the plug-in car grant was updated and from April 2015, eligible ULEVs must meet criteria in one of the following categories depending on emission levels and zero-emission-capable mileage, with a technology neutral approach, which means that hydrogen fuel cell cars are also eligible for the grant:
Category 1: CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 mi (110 km).
Classic Commuter Cars will qualify as a category 1
Wikipedia Source

Question 2

United States

Accepted Answer

Federal incentives
First the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.[17]The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new PEVs.
President Barack Obama behind the wheel of a new Chevrolet Voltduring his tour of the General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, Michigan in 2010.
As defined by the 2009 ACES Act, a PEV is a vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a traction battery with at least 5 kwh of capacity and uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery. The tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth US$2,500 plus US$417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kwh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed US$5,000. Therefore, the total amount of the credit, between US$2,500 and US$7,500, will vary depending on the capacity of the battery (4 to 16 kWh) used to power the vehicles.
The qualified plug-in electric vehicle credit phases out for a PEV manufacturer over the one-year period beginning with the second calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which at least 200,000 qualifying PEVs from that manufacturer have been sold for use in the U.S. Cumulative sales started counting sales after December 31, 2009. After reaching the cap, qualifying PEVs for one quarter still earn the full credit, the second quarter after that quarter PEVS are eligible for 50% of the credit for six months, then 25% of the credit for another six months and finally the credit is phased out. Both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2010, are eligible for the maximum $7,500 tax credit. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, released in January 2012, is eligible for a US$2,500 tax credit due to its smaller battery capacity of 5.2 kWh. All Tesla cars and Chevrolet Bolts are eligible for the 7,500 tax credit.
A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis found that the federal tax credit was the reason behind more than 30% of the plug-in electric sales. The impact of the federal tax incentive is higher among owners of the Nissan Leaf, with up to 49% of sales attributable to the federal incentive. The study, based on an stated preference survey of more than 2,882 plug in vehicle owners in 11 states, also found that the federal tax credit shifts buyers from internal combustion engine vehicles to plug-in vehicles and advances the purchase timing of new vehicles by a year or more.
 
State incentives
Chevrolet Volt with California's HOV lane access green sticker.
As of November 2014, a total of 37 states and Washington, D.C. have established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access regardless of the number of occupants. In California, for example, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) was established to promote the production and use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Eligible vehicles include only new Air Resources Board-certified or approved zero-emission or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Among the eligible vehicles are neighborhood electric vehicles, battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles including cars, trucks, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and zero-emission motorcycles. Vehicles must be purchased or leased on or after March 15, 2010. Rebates initially of up to US$5,000 per light-duty vehicle, and later lowered to up to US$2,500, are available for individuals and business owners who purchase or lease new eligible vehicles. Certain zero-emission commercial vehicles are also eligible for rebates up to US$20,000. California's zero-emission(ZEV) regulations are anticipated to result in 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2025 ( i.e., 15% sales of total states in 2025), moreover, the California's mixed incentives means to reach 40% of electric vehicle sales in the entire U.S.
Wikipedia Source (Comprehensiv & State by State

Question 3

Canada

Accepted Answer

Purchase incentives for new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) were established in Ontario consisting of a rebate between CA$5,000 (4 kWh battery) to CA$8,500(17 kWh or more) (~US$5,050 to US$8,650), depending on battery size, for purchasing or leasing a new PEV after July 1, 2010. The rebates will be available to the first 10,000 applicants who qualify.[22][23] The province also introduced green-coloured licence plates for exclusive use of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles.[22][24][25] These unique green vehicle plates allow PEV owners to travel in the province's carpool lanes until 2015 regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. Also, owners are eligible to use recharging stations at GO Transit and other provincially owned parking lots.[22][25]
Quebec began offering rebates of up to CA$8,000 (~ US$8,358) beginning on January 1, 2012, for the purchase of new plug-in electric vehicles equipped with a minimum of 4 kWh battery, and new hybrid electric vehicles are eligible for a CA$1,000 rebate. All-electric vehicles with high-capacity battery packs were eligible for the full CA$8,000 rebate, and incentives were reduced for low-range electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Quebec's government earmarkedCA$50 million(US$52.3 million) for the program, and the maximum rebate amount was set to be slowly reduced every year until a maximum of CA$3,000 in 2015, but the rebates would continue until the fund runs out. There was also a ceiling for the maximum number of eligible vehicles: 10,000 for all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and 5,000 for conventional hybrids.[26][27]
In November 2013, the provincial government announced its decision to earmark in 2014 an additional CA$65 million (~ US$45.5 million) to fund a three-year extension to the electric-vehicle rebate program. The maximum rebate was kept at CA$8,000, but a graded scale was introduced in order to spread the incentive over 10,000 or more vehicles.[28] Quebec's government also set the goal to deploy 12,500 more electric vehicles in the province by 2017, consisting of 10,200 consumer cars, 325 taxis, and 2,000 government-fleet vehicles.[28] Also, incentives were issued for "greening" 525 taxis, aimed to introduce 325 plug-in vehicles (275 plug-in hybrids and 50 all-electrics) and 200 conventional hybrids. The purchase incentives start at CA$20,000 for battery-electric taxis, CA$12,000 for plug-in hybrids, and CA$3,000 for conventional hybrids, with the rebate declining over time. The province planned to also subsidize the deployment of charging stations for taxis.[28]
In October 2016, the National Assembly of Quebec passed a new zero emission vehicle legislation that obliges any carmaker who sells in the Canadian province more than 4,500 new vehicles per year over a three-year average, to offer their customers a minimum number of plug-in hybrid and all-electric models. Under the new law, 3.5% of the total number of autos sold by carmakers in Quebec have to be zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) starting in 2018, rising to 15.5% in 2020. A tradable credit systemwas created for those carmakers not fulfilling their quotas to avoid financial penalties. The quotas will be determined by Quebec's Ministry of Sustainable Development. Quebec became the first Canadian province to pass such legislation, joining ten U.S. states, including California, that have similar ZEV laws. Quebec aims to have 100,000 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2020. Initially, the provincial government set the goal in 2011 to have 300,000 plug-in vehicles on the roads by 2020.
The Government of British Columbia announced the LiveSmart BC program which will start offering rebates of up to CA$5,000 per eligible clean energy vehicle commencing on December 1, 2011. The incentives will be available until March 31, 2013 or until available funding is depleted, whichever comes first. Available funds are enough to provide incentives for approximately 1,370 vehicles. Battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids with battery capacity of 15.0 kWh and above are eligible for a CA$5,000 incentive. Also effective December 1, 2011, rebates of up to CA$500 per qualifying electric vehicle charging equipment will be available to B.C. residents who have purchased a clean energy vehicle.
Source

Question 4

Other

Accepted Answer

France
Germany
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Other Countries
 
New data added frequently on Wikipedia here

Benefits of

Electric Car Ownership

United Kingdom

United States

Canada

Other

Many countries are adopting pro-electric car policies that include purchasing incentives and rebates, tax incentives priority permits, driving lanes, parking and many others.