California launched a new rebate program that state officials said could provide more than $1 billion through 2030 to support purchases of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The rebate initiative will be funded through California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program and administered through utilities. The program, announced May 13, begins June 26, 2026.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said fleets will be eligible beginning June 26 for point-of-sale rebates ranging from $7,500 to $120,000 for battery-electric commercial vehicles, including electric semis, delivery vans, drayage trucks, and other Class 2b through Class 8 vehicles. The program will make $250 million available this year, with funding expected to exceed $1 billion by 2030.
California recently revised LCFS rules to direct utility-generated residential electric vehicle charging credits toward commercial vehicle electrification incentives. The program is being administered statewide by Southern California Edison on behalf of CARB, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Fleets statewide will be eligible regardless of utility territory, according to CARB.
State officials framed the rebate program as both an industrial policy initiative and an air quality measure targeted at diesel emissions from freight transportation.
The new program also builds on California’s existing Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), which CARB said has provided more than $1 billion in incentives supporting deployment of more than 11,000 clean commercial vehicles since 2009, according to CALSTART.
The program comes amid legal ambiguity over California’s efforts to promote the deployment of zero-emission commercial vehicles. In 2025, President Donald Trump signed three congressional resolutions overturning federal waivers and approvals supporting several California vehicle emissions programs, including the state’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation. The ACT regulation required manufacturers to increase sales of zero-emission trucks in California between 2024 and 2035. The new rebate initiative instead relies on financial incentives to support deployment of zero-emission commercial vehicles.