Regional EV News

SacEV will be with SMUD at the Sunrise farmers market offering test drives in various EVs. It's a great opportunity to experience driving different EVs firsthand and to chat with current EV owners about their experiences and the EV lifestyle. And, it's an opportunity to take home some healthy veggies.

This is a great event for the EV Curious.

Sunrise Farmers Market

When: Saturday, August 9, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Sunrise Mall parking lot, 6041 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights

Ditch the valley heat and join SacEV members at the 3rd Annual Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum. We'll show our EVs and electric bikes as the Forum brings together local, regional, and national leaders who share a vision of making the Lake Tahoe Basin a world-renowned model of clean transportation.

Thursday, August 20, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Hosted at the Tahoe Blue Event Center, 75 Hwy50, Stateline, NV
Water and lunch provided

Reply back to this email if you are interested in joining us.

If you are considering buying a new or used EV, be aware that federal incentives are ending soon: the $7,500 incentive for eligible new EVs and the $4,000 incentive for used EVs will disappear after September 30. Currently, you can either choose to claim the credit on your federal taxes or opt to transfer the credit to an eligible dealer for an immediate discount on the vehicle at purchase.

The $7,500 to leasing companies (which lets them significantly reduce lease cost) will also end on September 30.

To qualify for the EV purchase incentives, your income must fall beneath a certain threshold and the vehicle must meet IRS specifications. EVs currently eligible for $7,500 incentive are:

Acura ZDX
Cadillac Lyriiq, Optiq, Vistiq
Chevy Blazer, Equinox, Silverado
Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
Ford F-150 Lightning (FLASH, LARIAT, XLT trims)
Genesis GV70
GMC Sierra EV
Honda Prologue
Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ioniq 9
Jeep Wagoneer S
Kia EV6, EV9
Tesla Cybertruck, Model 3, Model Y

The federal tax credit terminations are part of the 2025 federal budget. The One Big Beautiful Bill (or One Big Bad Bill, depending on your perspective), is complex, so if you are confused by different reports about the contents, you're in good company. You can find more information from Plug In America here.

Plug In America conducted a webinar on the federal EV incentive changes. You can watch the recording here,

Recurrent Vehicle Insights supports for both current EV owners and prospective EV shoppers. While a gradual decrease in EV range over time is typical, abrupt changes can indicate more significant issues. Recurrent offers valuable transparency, fostering confidence in an EV's battery health for both buyers and sellers, whether they are individuals or dealerships.

EV Shoppers: When considering the purchase of a new or used EV, I strongly recommend utilizing Recurrent. Aggregated insights are readily available, and I encourage you to request a Recurrent report from the seller or dealership.
For EV owners, Recurrent can be a beneficial tool to confidently demonstrate the battery life and range of your vehicle to potential buyers.

The race is on! Auto dealers have just 70 days to clear out over 100,000 units of EV inventory before the $7,500 clean vehicle tax credit ends. The termination of the tax credit is creating a mad scramble, as automakers fear that few consumers will buy an EV or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) when prices jump overnight on October 1.

The $7,500 tax credit also goes to dealers leasing any EV, resulting in some of the best EV and PHEV lease deals we’ve seen. Leasehackr has many Pre-Negotiated EV Deals. Shop around as many dealerships are taking advantage of the last minute rush to add additional service fees.

SacEV is organizing a special tour to Sparkz, an LFP battery cathode manufacturer, on Tuesday, September 2, at 10:00 AM. The tour will take place at 7120 Badiee Drive, Sacramento.

As you may know, SacEVA occasionally arranges complimentary tours that are of interest to our members. Previous tours have included locations such as SMUD wind farms, the CA ISO energy center, electric bus hubs, and the UC Davis Pavement Research Center.

If you are interested in attending this tour, please reply to this email.

I wanted to share some significant new findings that build upon information I provided about ten years ago regarding the link between car pollution and dementia. Beyond climate change and general air pollution, internal combustion engine vehicles can cause serious damage to our family's health.

Around ten years ago, studies indicated that tiny pollution particles from cars and power plants were responsible for 30% of dementia cases in senior women. More recently, a comprehensive meta-analysis study, which included five studies from North America, ten from Europe, seven from Asia, and two from Australia, has further confirmed that particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5) is indeed causing dementia.

When these pollutants are inhaled, they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. They are also small enough to bypass the blood-brain barrier (and the placenta in the womb). The brain then perceives these particles as invaders, triggering an inflammatory response that exacerbates and promotes Alzheimer's disease.

Your help in driving EV adoption forward is important contributor to our family's health as well as the environment.

We expect both Lucid (with their new new Gravity SUV) and Rivian will offer test drives. Also at the meeting, Sydney Hodges will describe how WeaveGrid protects the grid and keeps electricity rates affordable.

If you have questions about new or used EVs, here's a gathering of the experts! As always, we'll serve pizza and sodas at the meeting.

You can attend the meeting in person at the California Automobile Museum. While you're there, you can tour the exhibit on the history of cars, including the GM EV1. You can also attend the meeting virtually via Zoom.

Meeting details

Date: Wednesday, Sept 17 (Note the change to the third Wednesday of the month)
Location: California Automobile Museum, 2200 Front Street, Sacramento, or virtually on Zoom.
Agenda:

5:00 p.m. Test drives start.
5:30 p.m. Mixer with pizza and soft drinks. Talk with EV owners and tour the museum's EV exhibit, which shows over 100 years of automotive innovation.
6:00 p.m. Meeting starts.

Introduction of new EV models from Rivian and Lucid.
Discussion of how WeaveGrid plans to help EV charging on the grid.
Other topics TBD.

7:00 p.m. Mixer; talk one on one with the speakers and other SacEV members.

To join the meeting on Zoom, click here. If you encounter problems with Zoom, call 916-717-9158.

Special thanks to George Parrott for making the museum available for our meetings.

National Drive Electric Month (NDEM) is coming up, from September 12 to October 12. It's a nationwide event dedicated to raising awareness about the many benefits of electric vehicles, including all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

This year, SacEV is once again partnering with the Davis Electric Vehicle Association to host a regional NDEM event. You can also find information on other nationwide events here.

If you've been thinking about making the switch to electric, NDEM is the perfect opportunity to learn more and even bring a friend along for a test drive!

We invite all EV owners to join us at our upcoming EVent! This is a great opportunity to share your personal experiences with others and help clear up common misconceptions about owning an electric vehicle. Your insights on fuel costs, maintenance, charging infrastructure, and home charging are invaluable.

If you're curious about EVs, these events are also perfect for you\! You'll have the chance to get your questions answered directly by current EV owners and even take a test drive at some of our events.

For more details, please feel free to contact Guy Hall at (916) 717-9158 or check the SacEV.org calendar.

EVent Name: EVs@ThePavilion
Date: Sunday September 28th
Time: 11:00am-2:30pm
Location: Davis Pavilion

Event Timeline

9:00am - Set up
10:00am - Vehicle arrivals
11:00am - Event begins
2:30pm - Event ends
3:00pm - Vehicle drive offs
3:30pm - Clean up finished

We invite you to join other SacEV members by becoming a member of the national Electric Vehicle Association. As an EVA member, you will be part of a national grassroots community that advocates for EVs in the USA. The national EVA is critically important to SacEV since it handles our administrative chores (like tax filings, non-profit status, banking service, insurance, and legal help) and provides value in the form of webinars and two nationwide events, National Drive Electric Week and Drive Electric Earth Day.

What else do you get?

BATTERY HEALTH REPORTS FROM RECURRENT AUTO. The EVA is working with Recurrent to better understand battery degradation and range loss, particularly for used electric cars. Contribute to this initiative by signing up for free monthly battery reports and to share anonymous battery data. Recurrent is donating $10 to the EVA for each new EV signup, allowing us to expand and enhance our programming.
BLUEDOT. EVA members are eligible for $10 off the first charge + $0.30/kWh charging all the time on the Bluedot network. Contact membership@myeva.org and ask for the bluedot code.
NEOCHARGE. $125 off the NeoCharge Smart Splitter. Contact membership@myeva.org and ask for the NeoCharge code.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES. Networking with EV advocates at events is just one of the many benefits of becoming a member. Join one of our committees and use your skills to make an impact.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. The EVA offers ongoing virtual meetings, resources, and more, including our EV Educate Certificate Program and EV blog.
BENEFITS TO OUR LOCAL CHAPTER. SacEV receives a portion of your membership fee to help fund the work you do in our community