For Electric Vehicle Makers, Winners and Losers in Climate Bill
The climate and energy package approved by Congress on Friday aims to achieve two goals that are not always compatible: Make electric vehicles more affordable while freezing China out of the supply chain.
Auto industry representatives have been griping that the proposed $7,500 tax credits for electric vehicle buyers come with so many strings attached that few cars will qualify. Buyers can’t have very high incomes, the vehicles can’t cost too much, and the cars and their batteries have to meet made-in-America requirements that many carmakers cannot easily achieve.
“It’s going to be a lot harder for cars to qualify and for consumers to qualify for a federal tax credit for the purchase of an E.V.,” said John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents large U.S. and foreign automakers.
Some companies will benefit more than others from the sweeping legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats in the House approved on Friday, clearing the way for President Biden to sign it into law.
The new credits favor companies, like Tesla and General Motors, that have been selling electric cars for years and have reorganized their supply chains to produce vehicles in the United States. A joint venture between G.M. and LG Energy Solution will soon open a battery plant in Ohio, part of a wave of electric vehicle investment by automakers and suppliers.
Vehicles sold by Tesla and G.M. will regain eligibility for incentives that the carmakers had lost because they had sold more than their quota of 200,000 electric cars under current law. The legislation eliminates that cap.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/business/climate-bill-electric-vehicles.html