PMAA Sends Letter to Congress to Oppose EV Tax Credit Expansion
PMAA Sends Letter to Congress to Oppose EV Tax Credit Expansion
Today, PMAA joined AFPM, NACS, SIGMA, and API in a letter to Congress to oppose including an extension of the lucrative $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit in the tax extenders package that Congress may address before the end of this year. The EV Drive Coalition, which includes General Motors, Nissan, Tesla and other automakers, is pushing Congress to extend the credit and lift the cap which phases out on a per manufacturer basis once that company has sold 200,000 EVs total for use in the United States. According to Tesla, it reached the 200,000 threshold this summer and GM is expected to meet the number by the end of the year.
The Senate GOP seems split on the issue as competing bills have been introduced. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced legislation that would lift the 200,000 EV cap and extend the credit through 2022 while Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), introduced the "Fairness for Every Driver Act," which would repeal the EV tax credit. Senate democrats introduced their own bill (S. 3449), the Electric Cars Act of 2018, which would extend the electric vehicle tax credit for 10 years.
A common misconception is that EVs are environmentally cleaner than conventionally powered automobiles. However, the truth is that widespread adoption of EVs nationwide will increase air pollution compared with new high efficiency, cleaner burning internal combustion engines. EVs rely on electricity generated from coal and natural gas which are both major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, EVs must be transported to and from locations by different methods of transportation that produce emissions. Lastly, there are serious safety concerns surrounding the batteries that power electric vehicles. EV batteries can catch fire and produce toxic gases not normally encountered with internal combustion vehicle fires. These toxic gases require unfamiliar fire suppression methods that are not in widespread use which can present problems for first responders and create recycling issues.
The Senate GOP seems split on the issue as competing bills have been introduced. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced legislation that would lift the 200,000 EV cap and extend the credit through 2022 while Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), introduced the "Fairness for Every Driver Act," which would repeal the EV tax credit. Senate democrats introduced their own bill (S. 3449), the Electric Cars Act of 2018, which would extend the electric vehicle tax credit for 10 years.
A common misconception is that EVs are environmentally cleaner than conventionally powered automobiles. However, the truth is that widespread adoption of EVs nationwide will increase air pollution compared with new high efficiency, cleaner burning internal combustion engines. EVs rely on electricity generated from coal and natural gas which are both major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, EVs must be transported to and from locations by different methods of transportation that produce emissions. Lastly, there are serious safety concerns surrounding the batteries that power electric vehicles. EV batteries can catch fire and produce toxic gases not normally encountered with internal combustion vehicle fires. These toxic gases require unfamiliar fire suppression methods that are not in widespread use which can present problems for first responders and create recycling issues.
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