In another case of public policy whiplash for Americans and American industry, companies that help make electric vehicles have had the Biden-era rug of opportunity pulled out from under them by the Trump administration.
As reported by CNHI State Reporter Carson Gerber in a July article, Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — which is anything but — guts EV incentives from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Incentives under the Biden administration included a $7,500 tax credit on new American-made EVs, a $4,000 tax credit for used EVs, a $40,000 tax credit for heavy commercial EV trucks and a 30% tax credit for personal EV charging infrastructure.
These measures have encouraged Americans to try EVs. Domestic sales have increased 60% since 2022.
In October, the first three incentives will evaporate. The tax credit for EV charging infrastructure will disappear at the end of June 2026.
Without the incentives, sales will likely plummet, according to a Princeton University study published in March. The study projects sales of battery-powered EVs could fall about 30% in 2027 and 40% in 2030 compared to projections with Biden-era policies still in force.
The Princeton study concluded that the sales reductions could make 72% of all battery cell manufacturing operations in the U.S. obsolete.
This is troubling news, to say the least, for the fledgling EV industry in Indiana, where 7,000 jobs — mostly in battery manufacturing — would be jeopardized by 2030, according to an April study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation.
Spurred in large part by incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, EV production plants have sprung up across the Hoosier landscape, as reported by Gerber:
_ A 2.5-million-square-foot facility is under construction in New Carlisle to make batteries for General Motors’ growing fleet of electric vehicles, marking a $3.5 billion investment that is projected to bring 1,700 new jobs to St. Joseph County.
_ In Kokomo, Stellantis, in partnership with Samsung SDI, is building two battery plants — a combined investment of $5.7 billion — to create a projected 2,800 jobs.
_ ENTEK, a battery-component supplier, is investing $1.5 billion in a new facility in Terre Haute.
_ EV startup Slate is spending $360 million to convert a former printing plant in Warsaw into a production facility for customizable electric trucks. The facility would bring about 1,600 jobs to the city, according to Slate officials.
By reversing the tax breaks to incentivize consumer spending on EVs, the Trump administration has thrown a shadow over the burgeoning industry in Indiana, threatening to turn the new plants into mere boondoggles.
Already, in South Bend, a company called SiFAB will likely delay the expansion of a production line for a new silicon fiber used in lithium- ion batteries.
Still, there is hope that the EV industry will rebound from this public policy setback.
Companies that have already made investments in the future of electric vehicles are likely to eventually reap the benefits, according to Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association and son of former Vice President Al Gore.
“The demand for good EVs that deliver on what people are looking for is always way higher than I think most people estimate, because in the end, they’re really good cars that people love to drive,” he said in the CNHI article.
Hopefully, when the second Trump administration ends, one that favors a path away from fossil fuels will restore a business climate that favors forward-looking clean-energy initiatives.
Maybe the public policy whiplash will end there.
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