Electric Vehicle Fund Pilot Program
Building on our partnership with The MAAC Project in San Diego, BQuest and MAAC are working on launching an Electric Vehicle (EV) fund pilot program to help interested low-income families and individuals purchase EVs and be able to access the financial and environmental benefits of EV ownership.
Electric vehicles, on average, cost less than half as much to operate as gasoline-powered vehicles. Not only do EVs save on fuel costs, but they are less expensive to maintain without all the components of a gasoline engine. However, many of the rebates and tax incentives for EV purchasers are only for new vehicles or come in the form of a later rebate, making it harder for purchasers with less savings to wait for a rebate. Additionally, emissions-related health issues caused by poor air quality disproportionately impact lower income communities. The savings and benefits make it important to create opportunities that help underserved communities have access to EV technology — because they are hit hardest by transportation-related pollution and spend a disproportionate amount of their income on gas and public transit fares.
From gas savings to credit scores
SDG&E recently installed dozens of EV chargers at three of MAAC’s affordable housing sites and MAAC’s administrative offices. The missing component? The EVs themselves! BQuest plans to provide low-interest-rate financing to qualified MAAC residents interested in purchasing an EV. Another benefit is that some of MAAC’s clients have bad credit or no credit, creating an additional hurdle to EV ownership. By creating a loan program that is philanthropically motivated, borrowers can get a loan with financial literacy coaching at more generous terms than market rates could ever provide. This EV finance program administered by MAAC would…
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Create cost-savings for EV owners
- Demonstrate community interest in electric vehicles
- Establish or repair credit
- Provide financial literacy coaching for borrowers, and
- Create a revolving fund as loans are repaid
Stay tuned! This project is in the planning stages…