As reported last week, House and Senate Republicans have proposed sweeping tax reforms that would, by extension, kill the EV tax credit if the bill passes into law. Automakers have already expressed their distaste on the matter, and now they’re beginning to mobilize to keep it from becoming a reality. With electric vehicles just beginning to gain traction, and numerous manufacturers banking on the platform in the years to come, losing the credit would undoubtedly harm sales.

The Electric Drive Transportation Association, a group representing automakers, suppliers, technology firms, and energy concerns, says it will collaborate with its members and their shareholders to ensure the credit persists under the proposed GOP reform. Genevieve Cullen, the association’s president, claims the group will pull out all the stops to ensure the Senate sees things their way.  (Read More…)

Regardless of whether you like or loathe the Trump Administration, you have to admit it has a different view of what’s “on the table” than its immediate predecessors did. EV credits. NAFTA. Global trade agreements. Tariffs. It is, to quote a popular movie of 1977, a period of civil war, only the war is being fought on the battleground of public opinion.

There will be winners and losers out of this new normal, the same way there were winners and losers as a result of EPA, DOT, and NHTSA regulations that began under Nixon and steadily increased in power until Ronald Reagan came into office and deaded shit, as Ja Rule would say. I get the feeling that everything is up for grabs, whether it’s the chicken tax or CAFE.

Let’s say you were appointed “car czar” by President Trump. What would you do with that power?

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It’s the last thing Elon Musk wants to hear and it’s likely not something General Motors will be too pleased about. Contained within the tax plan introduced by House Republicans Thursday is the elimination of a huge driver for electric vehicle sales — the $7,500 EV tax credit.

Automakers, and especially the two mentioned above, already stood to lose their credits in the near future (there’s a 200,000-vehicle-per-manufacturer cap), but the new tax bill would see the buyer incentive permanently removed, not renewed, as many had hoped. Such a move could slam the brakes on a still-fledgling segment in the U.S. (Read More…)