Buyers scramble to snap up EVs as tax breaks end

Shoppers are snapping up electric vehicles as time is running out on a big tax break for going green.

- BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN

CHEVROLET ELECTRIC VEHICLES are displayed Friday at the Orange County Auto Show in Anaheim.

(GARY CORONADO For The Times)

At the Orange County Auto Show, Corinne Lawson and her husband took a test drive in a glimmering white Mustang Mach-E, an allelectric vehicle made by Ford.

Lawson is looking to buy her fourth Mustang and - for the first time - is leaning toward a battery-powered one. The smaller motor makes it a more comfortable car for her family.

"It has a backseat for the grandkids," Lawson said, who lives in Tustin and is retired. "That might be enough to tempt me."

Interest in electric vehicles was high at the auto show, which opened Thursday and goes through Sunday. Potential EV owners lined up to get rides in the latest models. They have only days left to take advantage of a tax credit that would save them $7,500 on a new EV and $4,000 on a used one.

The federal tax credit is set to expire Tuesday, in accordance with a new policy from the Trump administration. As the clock ticks, consumers and auto dealers have seen a jump in sales of new and used EVs.