Four reasons EV sales will stall under Trump 2.0 – and one big wild card
Want a federal subsidy? Better move fast.
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(Bill Sternberg is a veteran Washington journalist and former editorial page editor of USA Today.)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Callaway Climate Insights) — We interrupt the electric vehicle revolution to bring you these important messages from Washington: Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election will put the brakes on EV adoption in the U.S. And if you are looking for a federal subsidy to buy or lease an EV, you should act sooner rather than later.
To promote sales of plug-ins as part of his climate agenda, President Joe Biden put in place a variety of carrots (tax credits for EV buyers and builders) and sticks (an emissions rule aimed at ensuring that most vehicle sales are EVs by 2032). Now Trump and Republicans in Congress are poised to reverse the incentives and the mandates, ensuring that electric vehicle sales are driven more by the market than by government.
Because of the election results, GlobalData has already reduced its estimate of EV sales in the United States from 33% of the market in 2030 to 28%. Even that might be too high, considering that EVs made up just 6.8% of U.S. new vehicle sales in May, according to Edmunds.
Here are four reasons that EV sales are likely to plateau during the second Trump administration — and one big uncertainty that clouds the outlook:
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