The U.S. auto industry’s main lobby calls on policymakers to help support the adoption of electric vehicles through incentives, infrastructure investments and other regulatory means.
Without suggesting a cost for these EV stimulus programs, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said now is the time for substantial long-term investments in electrification as well as advanced safety technologies, according to a new report published on Tuesday. He describes the industry as “at the peak of a transformative moment” when it comes to electric and autonomous vehicles.
Automakers have refrained from seeking much government help during the coronavirus pandemic, in large part due to the fact that demand for new vehicles has been relatively resilient due to the global health crisis.
The report comes a day after the Electoral College voted Monday to consolidate Joe Biden’s victory over incumbent President Donald Trump. Biden has expressed much more support for electric vehicles and infrastructure to support vehicles than Trump.
For example, Biden has pledged $ 400 billion in public investment in clean energy, including battery technologies and electric vehicles. Part of Biden’s climate plan includes dedicating government spending to supporting electric vehicles, with 500,000 new charging points for electric vehicles by the end of 2030 (currently the United States has less than 29,000 public electric vehicle chargers, according to the U.S. Department of Energy).
The alliance report describes support for both businesses and consumers. Automakers have supported incentives to buy electric vehicles, as well as investment in infrastructure.
The federal government currently offers up to $ 7,500 in tax credits for consumers who purchase an electric plug-in vehicle. But each carmaker can only sell up to 200,000 units until an incentive settlement period begins. Only Tesla and General Motors have reached this threshold.
Suggested support for companies includes encouraging investment in research and development as well as manufacturing. The alliance also defines modernizing regulations to support, not hinder, technologies that can enable autonomous vehicles.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents automakers that produce nearly 99 percent of the cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. Tesla is not included in the alliance, according to its website.