The Major Problems Blocking Americas Electric Car Future
The electric future is coming. But how quickly is less certain.
08/31/2021 04:30 AM EDT
Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit, is author of The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations.
Just a decade and a half ago, the then-CEO of General Motors Co. Rick Wagoner observed to Larry Burns, at the time GMs head of research and strategy, that not many industries stay the same for a century. But the automobile industry, Wagoner added with some anxiety, had so far been the exception. Its business model remained that pioneered by Henry Ford with the Model T a century earlier gas-fueled, run by an internal combustion engine, rolling on four wheels. Whats the car of the next hundred years going to look like? Wagoner asked.
Recently, I asked Wagoner about that conversation. The focus then was on making the internal combustion engine better, he replied. I was asking, If we were starting the industry today, what would be different?
A pretty clear answer about how different came earlier this month from President Joe Biden when he issued an executive order setting out the goal that 50 percent of all new passenger cars and light vehicles sold in 2030 should be electric. In the order, he instructed government agencies to implement regulatory policies to achieve that goal.Theres a vision of the future that is now beginning to happen, said the president. This vision clearly does not involve making the internal combustion engine better.
How To Begin Ordering An Xc40 Recharge Online
What does it mean that I can start the order of the pure electric XC40 Recharge online?
You will be able to configure your car according to your preferences, review the different financing options for acquiring the car and then review the full order summary. If you are happy with the order overview, you can fill in your personal details, choose a retailer of your preference and submit the order request. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with all the details and the retailer/welcome center will contact you within one working day to proceed with the final step for ordering your new car.
Is it possible to add additional packages, options or accessories after submitting the online order request?
Yes. After submitting the request form, the retailer/welcome center you selected will contact you. Before finalizing the order, you are welcome to add available packages, options and other accessories. Please note that this can increase the price.
Which financing options are available?
There is an outright purchase option and a lease option. The prices shown on our website are recommended prices and the final price will be finalized together with your local retailer. No deposit or payment is paid online. After choosing your preferred financing option, payment terms will be detailed by your retailer.
Do I physically have to visit the retailer to finalize the order and sign the contract?
Am I in a binding agreement after submitting the form?
Can I trade in my current car?
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
This redesigned luxury midsized SUV follows the trail blazed by the larger Range Rover, with a variety of powertrains including a hybrid, premium amenities, and ultra-smooth styling. The Range Rover Sport launches with two inline turbocharged six-cylinder engines that use a mild hybrid setup, a plug-in hybrid based on that same engine , and a twin-turbo V8. All use an eight-speed automatic transmission. An all-electric version joins the lineup for 2024. Within the minimalist interior are numerous available features to pamper, such as massaging seats, a premium audio system, and sophisticated noise canceling.
Price: $83,000 to $121,500
Learn more about the 2023 Land Rover Range Rover Sport.
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Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Faq
How does the EV tax credit work?
At the federal level, the tax credits for EVs operates as money back at the end of the fiscal year you purchased or leased your vehicles based on a number of factors.The awarded credit is up to $7,500 per vehicle, but how much you may get back will depend on the your annual income, whether you are filing with someone else like a spouse, and what electric vehicle you purchased.For example, if you purchased a Ford Mustang Mach-E and owed $3,500 in income tax this year, then that is the federal tax credit you would receive. If you owed $10,000 in federal income tax, then you could qualify for the full $7,500 credit.Its important to note that any unused portion of the $7,500 is not available as a refund, nor as a credit for next years taxes.You may also be able to receive money back right away as a point of sale credit, but those terms probably wont kick in until 2024 at the earliest.
What electric vehicles qualify for tax credits?
As things currently stand, there is a lot up in the air right now. The second list above details all of the electric vehicles that previously qualified before the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act this past August outlining new qualifying terms for automakers.Some of the electric vehicles still qualify for tax credits if they are purchased and delivered before the end of 2022. .
What electric vehicles qualify for the new tax credits starting in 2023?Do hybrids qualify for tax credits?
Other Small Electric Cars
These five models arent the only small electric cars available U.S. drivers can choose from popular hatchbacks like the Chevrolet Bolt or Nissan LEAF, or luxury electric cars like the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y.
You can use this tool to see which electric cars are available in your area, and compare them based on pricing, practicality, and ownership costs.
Compare EVs Near You
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Tax Incentives On Electric Vehicles Are Worth The Research
Hopefully this post has helped to incentivize you to use the resources above to your advantage.
Whether its calculating potential savings or rebates before making a new EV purchase or determining what tax credits might already be available to you for your current electric vehicle, there is much to discover.
Ditching fossil fuels for greener roadways should already feel rewarding, but right now the government is willing to reward you further for your environmental efforts.
Use it to your full capability while you can, because as more and more people start going electric, the less the government will need to reward drivers.
The Biden Administration Continues To Expand Ev Adoption
President Biden first vowed to make the nations entire federal fleet all-electric. The White House has introduced two bills to expand EV adoption, one of which was signed by the President and includes funding for heavily expanded EV charging infrastructure.
Previously, there were rumors that the federal tax credit would be increased to $10,000. In President Bidens previous $174 billion investment plan for electrification, the tax credit was quickly mentioned as a reform. However, the summary remained vague about the reform only confirming that it will not only take the form of tax rebates but also point of sale rebates and it will now be for American-made EVs.
The second and larger bill sat within Bidens Build Back Better Act and subsequent increases to the federal tax credit, but it couldnt get past the Senate in late 2021. At that point, the revamped tax credit we all have sought was in limbo, possibly DOA. Until this past summer
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Revived Ev Federal Tax Credits Were Officially Signed By Potus
In late July 2022 the US Senate shared it was moving forward to vote on EV tax credit reform after Senator Joe Manchin took a break from huffing coal to finally agree to include investments to curb climate change.
One of the most prominent parts of the bill includes the long-awaited and fought over electric vehicle tax credit reform. In this iteration of the bill, access to the tax credit will be returned to those who have already exhausted the threshold, including Tesla and GM vehicles.
On August 7, 2022 it was approved by the Senate and a week later signed into law by President Biden.
The biggest issue we all are having with the Inflation Reduction act, is how cloudy and confusing its EV requirements are. Bear with us as we sort through it all, to once again provide you with the most up to date details of this ever evolving tale.
We have learned that the reform bill will also apply to EVs delivered after December 31, 2022. Heres a breakdown of the terms of the new Inflation Reduction Act.
Vehicles Purchased And Delivered Between August 16 And December 31 2022
Following the official signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS has included the following transition rule for those who already had an EV on the way but are wondering if they still qualify before the new credit terms kick in. In certain circumstances, the answer is yes. Per the IRS page:
If you purchase and take possession of a qualifying electric vehicle after August 16, 2022 and before January 1, 2023, aside from the final assembly requirement, the rules in effect before the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act for the EV credit apply .
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The Challenge For Audi
The man charged with making Audi electric vehicles a success is Stefan Niemand, the brandâs head of electrification. In an interview at Audi headquarters in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, the barrel-chested executive argued that the company is well prepared for its electric future. The next generation of electric vehicles, he says, will be cheaper and packed with technology that customers want. âWe learned a lot with the e-tron battery system, the crash system, the cooling system, the connection system and all this stuff. And of course, we now better understand where we can bring costs down, where we can optimize the system, where we can gain range or performance.â
The most important question is whether customers will respond to vehicles like the e-tron. âI think we did all that we can. We made the first car, and I think for the first car, itâs very, very good,â says Niemand.
Pressed on whether consumers are ready to adopt electric vehicles en masse, Niemand thinks back to his first experience with the R8 e-tron, an electric version of the Audi 2-seat sports car that has been tested in various forms since at least 2010. Before driving the car, a professional driver warned the executive that it would be much faster than he expected. Niemand said he thought the driver was joking. âThen I pushed the throttle, and ⦠I knew, forget about everything else.â
His experience left him in no doubt: âThis is the future.â
American Recovery And Reinvestment Act
President Barack Obama pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric vehicles and batteries. $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce highly efficient batteries and their components up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components and up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate plug-in hybrids and other electric infrastructure conceptslike truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles .
In March 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for competitively awarded cost-shared agreements for manufacturing of advanced batteries and related drive components as well as up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects. This initiative aimed to help meet President Barack Obama‘s goal of putting one million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
Electric vehicle purchases made in the U.S. are eligible for $2,500 to $7,500, depending on the make and model of the vehicle, in federal tax credit.
The following table summarizes some of the state incentives:
| State |
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Vehicles On The Road In 2021
Around the world, governments and automakers are focused on selling newer, cleaner electric vehicles as a key solution to climate change. Yet it could take years, if not decades, before the technology has a drastic effect on greenhouse gas emissions.
One reason for that? It will take a long time for all the existing gasoline-powered vehicles on the road to reach the end of their life spans.
This fleet turnover can be slow, analysts said, because conventional gasoline-powered cars and trucks are becoming more reliable, breaking down less often and lasting longer on the road. The average light-duty vehicle operating in the United States today is 12 years old, according to IHS Markit, an economic forecasting firm. Thats up from 9.6 years old in 2002.
Engineering quality has gotten significantly better over time, in part because of competition from foreign automakers like Toyota, said Todd Campau, who specializes in automotive aftermarket analysis at IHS Markit.
Age of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads
year old
Today, Americans still buy roughly 17 million gasoline-burning vehicles each year. Each of those cars and light trucks can be expected to stick around for 10 or 20 years as they are sold and resold in used car markets. And even after that, the United States exports hundreds of thousands of older used cars annually to countries such as Mexico or Iraq, where the vehicles can last even longer with repeated repairs.
How Fleet Turnover Lags New Car Sales
2035
2050
Why Choose A Small Electric Car
For some drivers, a small electric car is out of the question. If you have a large family or need a lot of cargo space, then you may want to consider an electric SUV or minivan, or a pickup truck like the Ford F-150 Lightning or Tesla Cybertruck.
But for those who can make do with a smaller vehicle, there are plenty of benefits, from a lower purchase price to faster charging times.
Its true that small EVs may have smaller battery packs, which can limit range, but this also means that they weigh less and use less power. One study found that Certified and real-world energy consumption of electric vehicles increase by 60% and 40%, respectively, with each doubling of vehicle mass.
An electric motor produces fewer emissions than an internal combustion engine, while still providing plenty of horsepower to get you where you need to go.
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The Great Electric Car Race Is Just Beginning
On the southern edge of Brussels, where the city turns to suburbs, the future of Germanyâs most successful automaker is taking shape inside a peculiar sort of car factory. Here, there are no exhaust pipes, transmissions or fuel tanks. There are no spark plugs, radiators or manifolds. What the Volkswagen Group factory does have, however, are batteries stacked to the rafters.
Thirty-six shoebox-sized battery modules, each containing a dozen lithium-ion cells, are packed into seven-foot long electric-battery packs and slung under the floor of each sport utility vehicle produced here. The first electric SUV from Volkswagenâs luxury Audi brand, the e-tron, can go 400 kilometers on a single battery cycle and be recharged in as little as half an hour. The styling is conventional, the interior is luxurious and the ride is nearly silent.
The e-tron SUV has one job for Volkswagen: Prove that a carmaker that has relied almost exclusively on the internal combustion engine since it was founded 82 years ago can produce electric vehicles people want to buy and policymakers will embrace as they cast around for ways to tackle the climate crisis. Success means that Volkswagen will overtake rivals, including Tesla, in electric car sales and fend off new challengers from China and Silicon Valley failure could signal the beginning of the end for a company with 665,000 employees and annual revenue of $265 billion.
Mini Cooper Electric Se Hardtop
The Mini Cooper Electric has one of the most unique designs on our list its a bit of a cross between a coupe and a hatchback. Like a traditional coupe, it has two doors and seats four passengers, but it has a hatchback instead of a conventional trunk.
The Mini Cooper has a top speed of 93 mph, has 114 miles of range on a fully charged battery, and gets 119 miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent .
The Mini Electric is a great city car for drivers who want a compact design that can fit into tight parking spots, but it doesnt offer much in the way of cargo space only 8.7 cubic feet. The back seat is also a tight fit, with only 30.8 inches of legroom.
Manufacturers suggested retail price : $29,900Passengers: 4Cargo space: 8.7 cubic feet
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How Does A Federal Tax Credit Work For My Ev
The idea in theory is quite simple All electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that were purchased new in or after 2010 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500, according to the US Department of Energy.
With that said, you cannot simply go out and buy an electric vehicle and expect Uncle Sam to cut $7,500 off your taxes in April. In reality, the amount you qualify for is based on both your income tax as well as the size of the electric battery in the vehicle you own.
Now, thanks to the freshly inked Inflation Reduction Act, there are a lot more parameters to be mindful of, like the requirement that the EV must be assembled in North America for instance. We have dug into those new terms more below.
To begin, heres how the Federal EV tax credit currently works.
