OnPoint Offers Discounts for Home Solar & Electric Cars
Portland credit union’s program launches as green markets grow.
OnPoint Community Credit Union has launched a promotion for electric vehicles and solar panels as a way to promote a healthier planet.
And the Portland credit union’s Green Horizons initiative also comes at a time when electric vehicle (EV) sales are buzzing and solar panel installations are rising.
Cox Automotive Inc. on Thursday reported that electrified vehicles – the combined total of EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids – accounted for 7.8% of the total vehicles sold last quarter, up from 4.8% in the same period one year ago.
The number of EVs sold in the first quarter was 44.8% greater than in 2020’s first quarter, far outpacing total vehicle sales growth of 11.4%. One factor was the falling prices of electric vehicles.
Wood Mackenzie, an analytics company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, estimated the 3.1 gigawatts of electricity-generating power through photovoltaic panels was installed on homes in 2020, up 11% from 2019. The pandemic curtailed growth from its pace of 18% in 2019, but it said it expects growth to return to 18% this year.
The share of homes with solar will grow from 4% in 2020 to 13.4% by 2030, according to a report released March 16 by Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“The majority of the market will be customer-owned thanks to the dominance of residential solar loans,” the report said. “New solar loan products and terms, pricing promotions, and point-of-sale technology enhancements have all contributed to increased residential solar sales in 2020 and will continue to drive growth in the coming years.”
Last month, Technology Credit Union of San Jose, Calif. ($3.7 billion in assets, 139,186 members) said it had committed to fund another nearly $2.5 billion in residential solar and storage systems sold and installed by Sunlight Financial’s partner contractors over the next three years — enough to fund 75,000 solar systems.
OnPoint announced special discounts April 5 under its Green Horizons initiative on home equity lines of credit for solar panels and loans for electric and hybrid vehicles.
For electric and hybrid vehicle loans, borrowers get a discount worth 0.25% APR. With those discounts, the rates are now 2.49% to 3.34% APR on new or used electric or hybrid vehicles. The credit union will also donate $250 for every electric vehicle loan and $125 for every hybrid vehicle loan to The Nature Conservancy in Oregon.
For solar panels, the discount is available when homeowners apply for the credit union’s “EquityFlex Line of Credit” for home improvements, It allows them to fix a portion of their line of credit for the purchase of solar panels and receive a 0.25% discount on the fixed portion.
OnPoint President/CEO Rob Stuart said the credit union was taking action to counter the threat of climate change and create a sustainable future.
“Going green shouldn’t be a luxury only a few can afford,” Stuart said. “We want to help our members make more sustainable choices without breaking the bank.”
OnPoint’s EV loan originations fell 41% to $6.8 million, with EVs making up 1.5% of the number of loans. So far this year, originations have totaled $2.7 million, with EVs accounting for 1.6% of loans.
It did better with hybrids. Those originations fell only 1% to $19.1 million in 2020, and accounted for 5.5% of loans. So far this year, originations have already totaled $10.6 million and account for 6.8% of loans.
By comparison, the credit union’s originations for all other types of vehicle loans fell 19% to $147.8 million in 2020.
Nationally, Cox Automotive found 354,616 new electric vehicles were sold in 2020, down 20.7% from 2019. Hybrid and alternative energy car sales fell 38.7% to 95,455. Total new car and light truck sales fell 14.5% to 14.6 million.
In the first quarter, U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 43.2%, hybrids rose 12.2% and total new vehicles rose 11.4%.