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Due to stricter conditions, the full premium tax credits are no longer available for various Tesla 3 models in the USA.
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Car companies in the USA should be given more time to switch to e-mobility.
This is a concession to the automotive sector – and has consequences for politics and the environment.
US President Joe Biden wants to give car companies significantly more time to switch to e-mobility.
This is reported by the
New York Times
, citing insiders.
Accordingly, the required emissions limits for combustion engines should fall far less than originally planned by 2030 and only increase more strongly thereafter.
The president probably wants to appease the auto industry in particular with the easing.
In addition, Biden is also likely to want to score points in the election campaign - at the expense of climate protection, NGOs criticize.
The strictest emissions regulations of all time were planned.
Car manufacturers in the USA would have had to reduce the emissions of their new vehicles by 56 percent between 2027 and 2032.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggested this.
The aim was to encourage manufacturers to quickly ramp up production of fully electric models.
It is still unclear what the specific easing will look like now.
They should not be determined until March at the earliest.
The current requirements apply until 2026.
The EPA cannot directly require automakers to sell a certain number of electric vehicles.
However, according to the Clean Air Act, the authority is allowed to set emissions limits.
For the original requirements, it is estimated that companies in the USA would have had to aim for a fully electric share of new cars of 60 percent by 2030 and a share of 67 percent by 2032.
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Concession to the automotive sector
Biden's plan is primarily a concession to the automotive sector.
The industry's peak association in the USA, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), called the original plans "neither reasonable nor feasible within the envisaged time frame".
In particular, demand for electric cars in the USA is not growing as quickly as expected.
According to data from the auto research company “Kelley Blue Book,” almost 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold last year – an increase of around 50 percent compared to the previous year.
However, this corresponded to just 7.6 percent of total sales.
The AAI itself recently proposed a target of 40 to 50 percent market share by 2030, which should also include hybrid models in addition to fully electric models.
A few weeks ago, around 4,700 car dealers also called on the US President in a letter to “put the brakes on” on the planned guidelines.
“We share a belief in the future of electric vehicles,” it says.
“We just ask that you don’t accelerate this future until the road is ready.” From the dealers’ point of view, the poor charging infrastructure in particular is inhibiting interest in electric driving.
According to AAI, around 1.1 million additional columns will be required by 2030 to meet projected demand.
That would correspond to 414 new charging stations per day.
But dealers complain that the high purchase prices are also a deterrent.
Not least because the US government has tightened the conditions for receiving tax credits when purchasing.
As of this January, vehicles whose batteries contain minerals from China are no longer eligible for the full bonus of up to $7,500.
This also includes popular models such as the “3 Rear-Wheel Drive” and the “3 Long Range” from Tesla.
Many manufacturers have recently tried to stimulate demand with generous discounts - at the expense of their balance sheets.
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Exact effects are still unclear
The effects of the planned easing can only be assessed once the regulations are in place, experts from the analysis company JD Power said when asked by Table.Media.
Volkswagen said the EPA proposals could have resulted in “significant civil penalties that would have diverted resources away from our massive commitment to investing in electric vehicles.”
A spokesperson emphasized: “Our commitment to electrification remains strong and there is no plan to divert resources or investment from electromobility.”
Manufacturers have invested heavily in the expansion of electromobility.
New production halls and battery factories are being built all over the country, also because of the $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Since coming into force in August 2022, the incentives are said to have triggered around $161 billion in private investment in electromobility, as a current overview from the White House shows.
Only more money (235 billion) is said to have flowed into the production of computer chips and other electronics.
However, individual manufacturers now want to adapt their plans.
Ford wants to scale back its plans for a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan by hundreds of jobs, while General Motors has postponed construction of a second factory to the end of 2025.
Campaign tactics and criticism from environmentalists
Biden is also likely to hope that the slowdown will give him a significant advantage in the election campaign.
The powerful auto union United Auto Workers (UAW), with around 400,000 members, has long struggled to support the incumbent president again in the November election.
Employees fear that Biden's plans to switch to supposedly less labor-intensive electromobility will lead to massive job cuts.
During its large-scale strike last summer, the UAW not only demanded hefty wage increases, originally 40 percent, but also job guarantees.
At that time, Biden joined the picket lines in a grand gesture.
While the industry is likely to be satisfied, climate activists are angry about the expected easing of restrictions.
“It is not surprising that Big Auto, Big Oil and dealers have joined forces to push the EPA's emissions regulations proposals off the road,” said Dan Becker, campaign director for the environmental organization Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
What is surprising, however, is that the Biden government is bowing to undue pressure.
According to EPA modeling, delaying the sharp increase in electric vehicle sales until after 2030 would still save about the same amount of auto emissions as the original proposal, reports The
New York Times
.
According to scientific calculations, this is the crucial point in time for meeting the 1.5 degree climate target.
Laurin Meyer, New York