New Virginia law to require sale of electric vehicles in order to reduce pollution

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) - Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed a bill that will require car manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of electric or hybrid vehicles. The goal is to reduce air pollution.

CMA’s Valley Dealerships says this is already a market that has gained a lot of interest.

“The hybrid and electric market is gaining in popularity. Each month, we’re getting more and more requests and people are asking questions about that technology,” Scott Simons, managing partner, said. “I see the popularity only growing.”

Now that electric vehicles can charge faster and go a longer distance, more people are looking into buying electric and hybrid vehicles.

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas pollution in Virginia, and this measure will help to cut down on that.

But improving the environment is not the only benefit.

“There are federal programs that when you purchase a fully electric vehicle, you get a $7,500 tax credit, so that also, helping the environment, greater distance and then the federal tax credit has spiked interest in this technology,” Simons said.

However, there are quota limits for auto makers, and Tesla and GM vehicles are not eligible for the tax credits.

You can learn more about the ins and outs of tax credits, here.

Electric vehicles are also quieter and require less service, according to Simons.

He added that CMA’s Valley Dealerships is fully committed to investing in this market.

“We’ve invested in tech training, we have technicians that are trained and infrastructure, so we’ve put up extra charging stations to meet the demand, so we are investing in this technology to make sure we’ll be there to take care of our valued guests,” Simons said.

When buying electric vehicles, Simon’s explained the dealerships do have cars on-site, but you can also order the car online, pay a $100 deposit and the manufacturer will custom build the car and ship it to your local retailer.

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