Yahoo Autos Donald Trump Wants to End Federal Support for EVs on 'Day One'
Electric vehicles and the subsidies, infrastructure, and manufacturing dollars around them have become a highly politicized topic, and former President Donald Trump attacked the segment during his address at the Republican National Convention on Thursday. Following a discussion about bringing oil drilling back to its days of glory, Trump took aim at President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies, saying he would end them all on his first day in office.
"I will end the Electric Vehicle Mandate on Day One — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, and saving U.S. customers thousands of dollars per car," Trump said in his address in Milwaukee on Thursday.
While the phrase Electric Vehicle Mandate addresses a host of policies put in place under Biden's administration, the former president is likely referring to a few specific ones. Namely, the current federal EV tax credit, which grants consumers who buy qualifying EVs a $7500 year-end tax rebate, has been wildly unpopular among Republican politicians. Earlier this month, the House Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of a bill (H.J. Res. 148) demolishing the federal EV tax credit, led by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO). The impetus for eliminating the federal EV tax credit, according to Republicans on the committee, lies in an alleged funneling of U.S. taxpayer dollars to Chinese companies responsible for creating batteries and other EV materials.
“The Biden administration is sacrificing our economic independence in order to force more Americans to drive an electric vehicle,” Smith said on July 9, according to The Verge. The representative added that if Biden vetoes the bill, “he is leaving the door wide open to making the American taxpayer China’s piggy bank."
Trump also criticized the Biden administration's "green new scam," potentially indicating he would dismantle the most recent EPA regulations. After a lengthy period of lobbying and re-writes, the final rules included an opening for automakers to meet the new emissions benchmarks in any way they see fit, including a mix of more efficient gas engines, hybrids, a larger EV mix, and even hydrogen vehicles. Notably, while President Biden has expressed support for 50 percent of all new vehicle sales being electric by 2030, there is currently no federal EV mandate.
Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg published earlier this week that he believes EVs don't work and are responsible for hurting our domestic economy and auto workers.
“The cars don’t go far enough. They’re very, very expensive. They’re also heavy,” the former president said in an interview with Bloomberg published Tuesday. “We have hundreds of thousands of electric cars right now that aren’t selling, and yet you don’t hear any complaints from the car companies... Normally, if a car doesn’t sell, you know, it’s a front-page story on Businessweek. Right? But they are not selling and the car companies are happy.”
Even so, the former President has made some friends in the EV industry, with Elon Musk committing to donating over $180 million dollars to America PAC, the political action committee focused on re-electing Trump.
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