Dueco T292
Cost: Around $200,000
Tax credit: IUp to $15,000 for 2009, not available after 2009*
Dueco, a manufacturer of heavy-duty lift trucks, makes non-hybrid, hybrid and plug-in hybrids, which are used by utility companies around the country.Under the original plug-in tax credit rule passed by Congress in the fall, trucks like these would have qualified for tax credits of up to $15,000. Cost-cutting in the new legislation took away credits for vehicles weighing over 14,000 pounds.
Because they use so much fuel, big trucks can actually save even more fuel than passenger cars through use of plug-in technology, Dueco points out. A truck like this one can save about 1,400 gallons of fuel a year, the company says.
"We think it's a missed opportunity to leave out the top part of the transportation segment," said Genevieve Cullen, vice president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, an industry group representing electric vehicle manufacturers.
NEXT
Last updated February 23 2009: 1:53 PM ET
RSS*Based on reading of legislation. IRS rules not yet finalized.
