US tax credits and subsidies for electric bikes are growing bigger
Not only are more cities and states promoting financials incentives to help residents buy electric bicycles, but the incentives are often growing in value, too.
Electric bicycles have proven to be a popular alternative form of transportation for many former car drivers. As prices have dropped and the number of models available has skyrocketed, more families have switched from two car households to one car and one e-bike households. Many young adults are foregoing car ownership altogether, opting instead for more affordable and more fun e-bikes to accomplish their urban commuting and using car-sharing services for occasional trips that require a larger vehicle.
Even as prices have dropped though, most e-bikes still cost well over a thousand dollars, meaning they can be out of reach for those on tight budgets. That has led to a growing wave of e-bike purchasing incentives at local and state levels, despite a proposed federal incentive failing to pass earlier this year.
Government incentives and subsidies play a crucial role in making electric bikes more accessible and affordable for a broader segment of the population. By offering financial assistance through rebates, tax credits, or direct discounts, these programs help mitigate the initial purchase cost, which is often a significant barrier for potential e-bike buyers.
In turn, this helps encourage a shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly transportation, contributing to reduced traffic congestion, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improved air quality in urban areas.
While many local and state incentives offer tax credits or purchasing subsidies of several hundred dollars, Colorado has offered one of the highest-dollar programs at nearly US $1,800 of maximum subsidies. The figures start at US $500 or $1,100 for mid-level and low-income residents, respectively. Then there are several hundred dollars worth of subsidies added on for those that opt for adaptive and cargo e-bikes (better able to replace car trips and carry heavier loads) as well as for biking equipment like helmets and locks. Upway, an online marketplace for purchasing used e-bikes, shared a helpful breakdown of Colorado’s program.
California has its own major incentive program in the works, though the exact specifics and rollout date are yet to be determined. We’ve been waiting eagerly for more details, but the last we heard from the program administrator was two months ago, saying “We are currently launching a multi-phase California E-Bike Incentive Project soft launch which includes retailer onboarding and training, community-based organization (CBO) outreach and community engagement, and the website launch. The next one to two months will be focused on retailer and CBO outreach, which will be happening concurrently leading up to the application window opening.”
There are over a hundred state and city-level incentives around the US, and that number is growing every week. Micromobility Industries has helpfully compiled the various e-bike incentive programs, even those from outside the US, to make it easier to find one in your area.
Of course as more people take to electric bikes, it’s also putting pressure on cities to address the growing need for safer cycling infrastructure. Ideally cars and bikes would share roads equally, but that requires car drivers to be extremely attentive for the much smaller visual signature of vulnerable cyclists. In a world where distracted driving has reached epidemic levels, protected bicycle lanes that offer cyclists a safer alternative path are proving to be much more desirable for many e-bike riders. Denver discovered that exact issue when its progressive rollout of highly sought after e-bike subsidies resulted in the city needing to double down on efforts to expand its safer cycling route infrastructure.
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Coca-Cola’s bottling partners in India are going electric, three wheels at a time. The company just announced a major expansion of its electric delivery fleet, adding thousands of electric three-wheeled vehicles (often called e-rickshaws or electric tuk-tuks) to its logistics operations across the country.
These compact electric vehicles are already a common sight on India’s roads, used for everything from passenger transport to last-mile cargo deliveries. Now Coca-Cola’s bottlers are ramping up their use of these efficient EVs as part of a broader sustainability and welfare initiative dubbed “Vividhta ka Uphaar,” which translates to “a gift of diversity.”
According to the company, the rollout is already underway, with more than 5,000 electric three-wheelers integrated into delivery routes in cities such as Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, and more. The vehicles not only reduce tailpipe emissions but also lower noise pollution and operating costs, making them a win for both the company and the communities they serve.
Coca-Cola joins a growing list of multinational corporations turning to electric tuk-tuks to clean up their delivery fleets in Asia. IKEA has deployed similar electric three-wheelers in India and other Southeast Asian countries as part of its push to achieve zero-emissions deliveries. Amazon and Flipkart have also experimented with three-wheeled EVs to reach urban customers on tight, traffic-clogged streets.
While North America often focuses on four-wheeled electric trucks and vans for commercial use, much of the developing world relies on these nimble three-wheeled workhorses. Affordable, maneuverable, and easy to charge, electric rickshaws are a natural fit for dense cities with hot climates – especially where small businesses and large corporations alike need efficient last-mile solutions.
Electrek’s Take
These types of EVs can’t come soon enough. They use electric drivetrains that are closer in size to an electric bicycle than an electric delivery truck or van (usually 2-4kW motors and 3-5 kWh batteries), yet can carry loads closer in size to those same trucks and vans.
Sure, they can’t carry quite the same tonnage, but they’re often more appropriately sized for the kind of last-mile delivery that so many companies require.
I actually bought an electric tuk-tuk back in 2023 and found it to be the perfect ‘city truck’ for my lifestyle, where I live car-free in a city and my wife and I travel by e-bike and e-motorcycle. For the few times we need to actually haul stuff, an electric tuk-tuk or rickshaw gives truck-like capacity in a smaller and more efficient vehicle. What’s not to like?!
Images via: Coca-Cola
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![Yangwang U9 Xtreme cracks 300 mph to become fastest production car EVER [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/Yangwang-U9-Xtreme.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Move over, Bugatti! The new Chinese Yangwang U9 Xtreme electric hypercar just blasted its way to a staggering, 308.4 mph top speed on a German test track, seizing the “world’s fastest car” crown and busting the last traces of the myth that electric cars are slow.
Just weeks after BYD announced that the nearly 3,000 hp, all-electric Yangwang U9 Track Edition model set a new global speed record for electric vehicles after hitting a ridiculous 472.41 km/h (~293 mph), the Yangwang crew returned to Germany’s Automotive Testing Papenburg GmbH (ATP) test track with the U9 Xtreme with its sights set on a new goal. They didn’t want the world’s fastest EV title – they wanted the world’s fastest production car title. Period.
The BYD Yangwang crew got that record, rocketing all the way to 496.22 km/h – that’s 308.4 mph to you and me!
“This record was only possible because the U9 Xtreme simply has incredible performance,” explains German GT racing driver Marc Basseng, who piloted the Chinese EV on its record-setting run. “Technically, something like this is not possible with a combustion engine. Thanks to the electric motor, the car is quiet, there are no load changes, and that allows me to focus even more on the track.”
The Yangwang U9 features the world’s first mass-produced 1,200V ultra-high-voltage vehicle platform. Developed by BYD, the car is powered by the company’s latest li-ion phosphate batteries in BYD’s now-familiar “blade” configuration.
The U9 Xtreme’s record-setting run dethrones the previous Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which managed 304.8 mph back in 2019. The Bugatti now has to settle for the lesser “world’s fastest combustion-powered production car” title, which is objectively lame.
Definitely NOT lame
The company says it’s selling “no more than 30” of the Xtreme U9 EVs, presumably to customers with incredibly long driveways. The Xtreme version features smaller, 20″ wheels (instead of 21s), and gets wider, 325 mm tires (up from 275 mm) to match the rears. The fronts also ride on a narrower track.
You can watch Marc Messang put the 3,000 hp Yangwang U9 Xtreme electric hypercar to the test in the video, below, then let us know what you think of China’s first-ever world record-setting vehicle in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Fastest production car EVER
SOURCE: CarNewsChina.
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With dual electric motors pumping out 776 hp, over 400 miles of all-electric range, and a relatively low MSRP, the new AUDI E5 Flagship Quattro electric wagon is electrifying the Chinese wagon market – scoring over 10,000 orders in its first thirty minutes on sale!
First launched last fall, the new Audi-backed AUDI sub-brand kept the sexy wagon aesthetic but ditched the Germans’ interlocking rings and Auto Union heritage in favor of a simple, all-caps AUDI logo on the E concept wagon. Now seen in production trim, the production AUDI E5 Sportback is surprisingly true to the original concept – except in the horsepower department, that is.
But, while a production car having lower horsepower figures than the concept car that preceded it is pretty typical, the production AUDI E5 is different: it actually offers more peak power than the 765 hp concept!
That’s right, kids! the range-topping Flagship Quattro version of the new AUDI E5 Sportback offers buyers 776 horsepower (that’s 11 more than the concept), and gets 402 miles (CLTC) of range from its 100 kWh battery. And, while that version is a monster, even the base-level Pioneer version at just 235,900 yuan ($33,000, as I type this) offers a 76 kWh battery pack sending power to a 295 hp rear-mounted electric motor and over 600 km of range (~385 miles).
It’s a solid achievement in value and tech, and the Audi people seem pretty proud of themselves. “The AUDI E5 Sportback is our first model based on the Advanced Digitized Platform, and it delivers on our brand promise: the best of both worlds,” says Fermín Soneira, CEO of the Audi and SAIC Cooperation Project. “Audi’s DNA and engineering excellence is blended with China’s digital ecosystem and innovations, specifically tailored for our tech-savvy customers.”
And it’s pretty.
AUDI E5 Sportback
The wagon’s exterior, while not necessarily shouting “Audi” in the conventional, Western sense, is still proportioned well enough to carry the four rings (or, looked at another way, a VW logo). But, while it’s a great-looking wagon on the outside, it’s on the inside that the all-new E5 AUDI Sportback really sets itself apart.
The interior of the AUDI E5 Sportback is noticeably different from any Audi model, being much more inline with similar entry-luxe EVs sold in China. The E5 dash also sports a 59″-inch” wide screen that stretches across the entire dash, digital side mirrors, Alcantara seating surfaces, and wireless phone chargers.
All that tech is powered by the QUALCOMM Snapdragon 8295 automotive chipset with 5-nanometer precision and the ability to perform 30 billion operations per second, and the Chinese-market AUDI OS offers what its makers call, “an intuitive experience designed to make the vehicle occupants’ lives easier.”
You can take a look at the new E5 Sportback’s interior, below, then let us know whether or not you think an Audi AUDI like this (and its purple mood lighting) would be a hot seller Stateside in the comments.
E5 Sportback interior
SOURCE | IMAGES: AUDI.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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