The United States government’s $7,500 federal tax credit towards electric vehicles has certainly been a boon towards the adoption of EVs, but actually knocking that money off the price hasn’t always been easy. At first, the money only came as a discount on your taxes come next season’s filing, and if you didn’t owe money to the feds, you wouldn’t see any discount. (We have a feeling the lobbyists at the American Institute of CPAs were behind that.)
Revisions to the credit process in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act streamlined the process in some ways, but complicated it in others: the new law made the $7,500 a point-of-sale credit — no waiting for tax season — but it also made the requirements more stringent, including demands that vehicles must be made in North America and, as of 2024, must use batteries that don’t use minerals from select countries like China.
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As a result, many vehicles that were eligible for government green in 2023 no longer are; it’s down to just six cars and trucks as of early January. Among the models not on 2024’s list: the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV. In an effort to keep that from torpedoing sales of two of its most promising new models, however, General Motors is taking an unexpected-but-logical tack: it’s slashing the prices of both electric crossovers by $7,500.
The reduction shows up as the diplomatic “Ultium Promise Bonus Cash” on Cadillac’s website and simply as “Bonus Cash” on the Chevrolet one, but both amount to the same thing: $7,500 knocked off the price of a brand-spanking-new Ultium-platform SUV. It’s valid on all trims of both models, according to the websites, so you can pick and choose from the various configurations on offer.
GM is in the process of getting the 2024 Blazer EV and Lyriq certified as eligible for the tax credit shortly — the carmaker says it only needs to make changes to two minor parts to make them worthy. Once they do, GM will presumably cease to offer this deal. It shouldn’t make a difference to you, the buyer, since the tax credit is now redeemable at the point of sale — but if you have a particular aversion to, say, not taking free money from the government, this would be a good time to buy.
