The industry can stand on its own
For the past eight years, the government has been shelling out money to offset part of the cost of buying electric vehicles. This is an artifact from the Obama administration and it was supposed to help the climate by encouraging people to move away from gas-powered engines. But the tax credits will be expiring in many cases next year and the question now is whether Congress plans to renew this taxpayer-funded giveaway. Forbes explored the issue last month, weighing some of the pros and cons.
One-time federal tax credits of between $3,500 and $7,500 were enacted in 2010 to help spur sales of plug-in vehicles, which was then a priority for the Obama administration. The incentives helped the industry register sales of 34,000 electrified rides over the first 10 months of 2018, according to InsideEVs.com, which represents a 58% boost over the same period in 2017.
But the credits are not permanent, and are scheduled to phase out during the calendar year after an automaker sells 200,000 full electric (EV) and/or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles…
Critics argue that eliminating the tax credit based on sales essentially penalizes automakers that were at the forefront of EV development and invested heavily in the technology early in the game.
