Obviously, with a price difference of $25,000 between vehicles eligible for the car and wagon credit and those available for the SUV credit, any manufacture with a lick of common sense is going to want its vehicles classified as SUVs. What is an SUV? That’s an excellent question. An SUV is what the government says it is, and that can involve the EPA, NHTSA, DOT, the IRS, and probably six or seven agencies you never heard of.
Suffice to say, before you plunk your hard earned cash for a car you think is an SUV, make sure it qualifies for the EV tax credit in order to avoid tears at tax time. It, but it is. If the vehicle you want to buy is not on the list above , then it does not qualify. Another unanswered question is whether the operative number is the price on the Mulroney sticker pasted to the back window of that shiny new chariot or the price listed on the sales contract, which could include any number of upcharges added by a dealer for market adjustments and other price gouging tactics. We assume the window sticker will control, but it’s likely many dealers will try everything they can to funnel some of that government money into their pockets instead of yours.