Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM

GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services announces an industry-first Hybrid Rebate Program for companies that lease hybrid vehicles. The rebate program is designed for customers that make significant investments in new technology aimed at improving their environmental performance.

Since the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 became law, there has been confusion about how it relates to commercial vehicle fleets. Nearly $875 million of the act's $14.5 billion is reserved for advanced vehicular technology projects such as hybrid tax credits. Despite this, leasing firms have been waiting for more guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.

The program processes a rebate back to hybrid lease customers in a straightforward manner. The IRS sets the vehicle specific credit amounts and OEM specific phase-out requirements. Based on IRS regulations, GE Capital Solutions tracks eligible vehicles for its customers by using PricewaterhouseCoooper's Like Kind Exchange Services group to calculate the hybrid credit based on eligible vehicles as reported by Polk's VIN validation service. GE Capital Solutions provides the allocated rebate to its customers and does not charge an additional administrative fee for the service. Based on this program, GE Capital Solutions approved more than $2.2 million in hybrid rebates for customers in 2007.