Hybrid Voucher Program Debuts New Web Site

The California Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) has debuted a new web site, www.californiahvip.org, designed to provide details and requirements on the project as well as a portal for requesting vouchers that pay for clean hybrid

trucks and buses.

The aim of the HVIP, managed by Calstart and sponsored by the California Air Resources Board, is to encourage the purchase and use of medium- and heavy-duty hybrid vehicles in California.

In addition to the new web site, Calstart will offer HVIP training sessions starting January, to help dealers and fleets prepare for requesting vouchers.

CARB created the nearly $20 million HVIP to speed the market introduction of low-emitting hybrid trucks and buses by reducing the up-front cost of these vehicles for fleets that purchase and operate them in California. The HVIP voucher is intended to reduce about half the incremental cost of purchasing hybrid heavy-duty trucks and buses.

The vouchers will be handed out starting at the end of January 2010, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To qualify, dealers must successfully complete training and sign the Terms and Conditions. The vouchers will range from $10,000 to $45,000 and each fleet is limited to a maximum of 100 vouchers.

"HVIP is an exciting project that could lead to the introduction of as many as 800 hybrid trucks and buses on California's roads, a nearly 50 percent increase in volume for these vehicles in the early market," said John Boesel, president and CEO of Calstart. "We hope HVIP becomes a model for how to spur the faster adoption of clean, low-carbon vehicles nationwide."

For more information or to view the training schedule, visit www.californiahvip.org.