Folsom Startup Awarded $5M Loan

FOLSOM, CA — The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has awarded a $5 million loan guarantee to a California startup seeking to help car buyers lower their monthly payments on electric vehicles.

The agency awarded the multi-million-dollar loan guarantee to EV Life, a company based in Folsom which offers the EV Life Climate Loan to consumers looking for an affordable financing option to buy electric vehicles.

This loan guarantee is the most recent project under the Air District's Climate Tech Finance program which seeks to support innovative climate projects, the agency said in a news release Wednesday.

The Air District's Climate Tech Finance team partnered with the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank and the Northern California Financial Development Corporation in conducting a technology qualification, social equity impact and greenhouse gas analysis on EV Life to determine its eligibility for the loan guarantee.

The Air District's greenhouse gas analysis ensures that new technologies will reduce short- and long-term greenhouse gas emissions.

The agency's Climate Tech Finance team eventually found EV Life eligible for the loan guarantee, allowing the company to secure a line of credit with San Francisco-based RSF Social Finance to help fund its EV financing service for consumers.

"While the Bay Area has made significant progress increasing electric vehicle adoption, we must eliminate the EV price barrier so all residents can access and benefit from clean air vehicles," Air District Executive Officer Dr. Philip Fine said in a statement Wednesday.

Although many EVs come with tax credits, rebates and other incentives, few incentives reduce the upfront cost of their purchase, which may initially be higher than that of a gas-powered vehicle.

To address the situation, EV Life's Climate Loan platform enables car buyers to apply for a loan and use their qualified tax credits and rebates upfront to lower payments by up to $200 per month, making financing an EV competitive with a gas car.

Peter Glenn, founder, co-CEO and head of marketing at EV Life, acknowledged that the Air District's loan guarantee helped the company secure its first commercial bank loan at terms that could make its EV financing affordable for more Californians.

"We believe that when it comes to buying a car, you shouldn't have to choose between saving the planet and saving money," Glenn said in a statement Wednesday.

EV Life's forecasted growth is expected to reduce 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year in California by helping residents switch from gas-powered to electric vehicles, according to the Air District.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.

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