Financial Assistance Available to
Low-Income EV Buyers
Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council
Helps People Navigate New State Program
By Callie Fausey | April 24, 2025
Read more of our 2025 Earth Day cover story here.
You don’t need Elon Musk money to buy an electric vehicle.
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is helping people apply for the statewide Driving Clean Assistance program, which offers upfront financial assistance to low-income individuals who are interested in the switch to electric.
“There’s been programs in the past that have come and gone,” such as a former program that provided tax rebates for EV purchases, explained Sean McArthur, the CEC’s climate projects manager. “Each one tries to learn from the previous one and improve the program.”
This rendition of EV assistance will provide up-front cash and charging cards that can be used at any charging station. The initial amount depends on whether you’re retiring a gas-powered vehicle or buying a car for the first time.
“There’s two paths you can take, and that’s the Clean Cars for All program, which is a scrap and replace, so you can scrap an old vehicle and replace it with an electric vehicle,” McArthur said. With this option, people can receive up to $12,000 for an EV and a $2,000 charging card.
“The other pathway is, if you don’t have a vehicle to scrap, you can go with the Driving Clean Assistance program,” he added. That offers up to $7,500 and a $2,000 charging card.
“They [the dealership] take the money straight off of the hood, so they take the list price and they decrease it by whatever the amount for the grant that they received is,” McArthur said. “Other programs or rebates are really great, but a lot of times you have to wait to see that money.”
All state regions are now open to applications. So far, the CEC has only seen about 20 or so applications, McArthur said. The applications are pretty in depth, he added, but the CEC offers bilingual application clinics online and in person at their Community Hub on State Street.
“They [the state] don’t have a close date,” he said. “It’s just once they run out of the funds, essentially. So, CEC has been helping folks ever since they opened their applications.”
People have been responding well, McArthur said. The grants are stackable with other incentive programs, such as tax credits and rebates. People can learn more about other incentives through the CEC’s EVs for Everyone program, which offers one on one assistance for EV purchases.
The state has a list of EVs that are eligible, but a majority qualify for the program. Learn more at drivingcleanca.org.
In-Person Clinics
April 30, 2-6 p.m., CEC’s Environmental Hub (1219 State St.)
May 7, 5-8 p.m., Lompoc Public Library (501 E. North Ave., Lompoc)
May 21, 2-5 p.m., CEC’s Environmental Hub (1219 State St.)
June 18, 5-8 p.m., CEC’s Environmental Hub (1219 State St.)
June 25, 3:30-6:30 p.m., Santa Maria Public Library (421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria)
July 16, 2-5 p.m., CEC’s Environmental Hub (1219 State St.)
July 30, 5-8 p.m., Lompoc Public Library (501 E. North Ave., Lompoc)
August 6, 5-8 p.m., CEC’s Environmental Hub (1219 State St.)
Virtual Clinics
June 4, 2-5 p.m., virtual session via zoom
August 20, 5-8 p.m., virtual session via zoom
For more information and to sign up for a clinic, visit cecsb.org.
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