For more than a decade,
the US government heavily
subsidized electric vehicles (EVs).
Those subsidies will soon phase out
for the largest EV manufacturers.
Some in Congress
want the subsidies
to be expanded.
The EV tax credit, since 2008,
offers consumers a subsidy
of up to $7,500.
The credit is set to gradually
phase-out for manufacturers
that sell more than 200,000 EVs
in the U.S.
Both General Motors and Tesla
recently passed 200,000,
so their subsidies are set
to expire in 2020.
Manufacturers want the
200,000-vehicle cap
removed, to allow more
subsidies, and promote
EV sales.
The credit’s current costs
are estimated to be $7.5 billion
from 2018 to 2022, about
$1.5 billion per year.
Research by the Manhattan
Institute found that EVs
will reduce energy-related
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions
by less than 1% by 2050:
“That reduction will have
no measurable impact
on world climate—and thus
the economic value of CO2
emissions reductions
associated with
[electric vehicles]
is effectively zero."
Their cumulative impact on
GLOBAL climate trends
would amount to
a rounding error.
The EV tax credit is financed
mainly by lower-and
middle-income taxpayers.
Of the 57,066 households that
received the credit in 2016,
78 percent had at least
a six-figure income,
and 7 percent reported
more than $1 million
in annual income.
Less than 1 percent
of all EV credits went
to households earning
less than $50,000 in 2014,
meaning half of Americans
receive very little benefit
from the credit.
Tesla’s customers have
an average household
income of $293,200.
Buyers of the
electric Ford Focus
have an average
household income
of $199,000.
On top of the
$7,500 EV tax credit,
electric cars owners
don’t pay gasoline taxes
to help support the roads
they use.
In 2017, the 199,826 plug-in EVs
sold in the U.S. made up barely
1 percent of the market.
Even after counting
savings on fuel,
EVs cost about $5,000 more
over their lifetimes than
internal combustion cars.
Not to mention their
short ranges and long
recharge times.
Congress
should oppose
all EV tax credits.