Will HOV lane access, tax perks spur electric vehicle adoption?

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed a law designed to get consumers to adopt electric vehicles early. One of the big perks: Access to the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane even if you're driving solo.

Specifically, the Maryland bill includes the HOV lane perk for three years starting on Oct. 1. In addition, the state is offering a $2,000 excise motor vehicle credit for a purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle. This $2,000 is in addition to the $7,500 federal tax credit. These credits also go for three year starting Oct. 1.

Given that GM is mentioned early and often in the Maryland press release about the law, it's clear that the Chevy, Tom Stephens, vice chairman of GM's global product operations, said in a statement that these state incentives make a big difference in getting consumers to try new technologies.

So let's discuss. Will these state incentive influence consumer buying decisions?

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com