Air District expands Clean Cars for All program to entire Bay Area

Clean Cars for All now offers up to $12,000 for qualified residents to retire older, more polluting vehicles and replace them with a new or used hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, or fuel cell vehicle, or get a prepaid transit card or e-bike and bike accessories. Additionally, up to $2,000 is available for home-charging equipment when purchasing a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle.

In addition to increased award amounts – up from $9,500 previously - the Clean Cars for All program also expands eligibility to all Bay Area zip codes, increases the vehicle model year cap from 2005 to 2007, and reduces the eligible household income limit from 400 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Previously, the program was limited to communities most impacted by air pollution.

The Air District launched the Clean Cars for All program in March 2019 as part of a broad effort to make clean air vehicles affordable options for residents across the Bay Area. The California Air Resources Board recently awarded the Air District $28 million with an additional $3.4 million expected this year to continue support for this program.

Participating residents may choose one of the following clean air transportation options to replace their old vehicle that will be scrapped:

• Electric Vehicles that operate solely on their electric motor. Electric vehicle batteries recharge by plugging into an outlet or charging station.
• Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles that use hydrogen fuel and an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine.
• Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles that combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine. Plug-in hybrid batteries are recharged by the gasoline-powered motor through regenerative braking and by plugging into an outlet or charging station.
• Hybrid Electric Vehicles that combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine. These vehicles cannot be "plugged-in" to be recharged. The gasoline-powered motor also acts as a generator to recharge batteries on hybrids.
• E-bike or Transit Card that can be used for public transportation on Bay Area transit systems.

Applicants must live in the Bay Area Air District’s jurisdiction. For more Clean Cars for All program details and information about how to apply, to complete an application, or to verify eligibility, visit http://www.baaqmd.gov\cleancarsforall.

View press release(254 Kb PDF, 2 pgs, revised 3/4/2024)( 中文 | Tagalog | Español | tiếng Việt ).