EV tax credits in Biden’s Build Back Better Act will help sell more cars than new chargers in infrastructure bill

Published

4 years ago

November 21, 2021

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President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Detroit.

Evan Vucci | AP

DETROIT – Now that President Joe Biden‘s $1 trillion infrastructure bill is law, Democrats are setting their sights on his Build Back Better Act to further advance the administration’s electric vehicle agenda.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $7.5 billion to jump start Biden’s goal of having 500,000 EV charges nationwide by 2030. The $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is close to a vote in the U.S. House, includes tax incentives of up to $12,500 per vehicle to spur consumer demand in electric vehicles.

“The infrastructure bill the President signed this week is a critical step in investing in our future,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said during an event to celebrate GMC Hummer EV production with Biden in Detroit. “Now we’re focused on the next step.”

The event at General Motor’s Factory Zero was largely a parade of Michigan Democrats touting Build Back Better and using the forthcoming Hummer production as a soapbox to tout union-made vehicles.

“This infrastructure law with my Build Back Better plan, we’re going to kickstart new batteries, materials and parts production and recycling, boosting the manufacturing of clean vehicles with new loans and new tax credits,” Biden said during the event. “Creating new purchasing incentives for consumers to buy American-made, union-made clean vehicles like the electric Hummer.”

The $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill is set for a vote in the House on Friday.

Controversial incentives

The proposed EV incentive under Build Back Better includes a current $7,500 tax credit to purchase a plug-in electric vehicle as well as $500 if the vehicle’s battery is made in the U.S. It also includes a controversial $4,500 tax credit if the vehicle is assembled domestically with union labor, which has drawn heavy criticism from non-Detroit automakers whose American workers aren’t organized.

Toyota Motor has called the union-made incentive “blatantly biased” and “wrong.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk also has heavily criticized the incentive and Biden for his support of unions such as the United Auto Workers union that represents plant workers of the Detroit automakers.

The tax credits supporting advanced technologies that generally benefit wealthier Americans has always been controversial, but stipulating that a portion of the $12,500 go to union-made EVs escalated the partisan tension. Biden has been unapologetic about his support of unions.

“We’ve got to focus on what made the nation great. I have no problem with Wall Street bankers and others,” Biden said Wednesday. “But they didn’t build America. The middle-class built America and unions built the middle class.”

Under the bill, individual taxpayers reporting adjusted gross incomes of $250,000 or $500,000 for joint filers to get the new EV tax credit. It also would limit the EV credit to cars priced at no more than $55,000 and trucks and SUVs up to $80,000.

‘More critical bill’

BofA Global Research analyst John Murphy described the infrastructure package as “only modestly supportive” of the auto industry’s move toward EVs. He said the $12,500 in tax credits to buy an EV is more crucial to increase adoption.

“As noted, the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda is the more critical bill determining regulatory support for the electrification revolution in the U.S.,” Murphy wrote in an investor note last week.

U.S. President Joe Biden gestures after driving a Hummer EV during a tour at the General Motors ‘Factory ZERO’ electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, November 17, 2021.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Transportation officials last week touted the Build Back Better as a key part of Biden’s plan along with the new infrastructure package to help achieve the president’s EV sales goal. He wants half of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to be electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that include EV batteries and traditional internal combustion engines.

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delany believes such incentives for EVs could make the total cost of buying a vehicle “more compelling and would broadly benefit” automakers by making their products more affordable to consumers.

‘Ambitious’ goal

The infrastructure package, in the meantime, only covers a portion of the funds needed to build out a truly nationwide charging network.

The $7.5 billion is only about 15% of the $50 billion consulting firm AlixPartners has forecast will be needed to reach Biden’s goal of a nationwide network of 500,000 chargers by 2030.

Building that will take a multitude of public and private sector investments, experts say. They characterize the infrastructure package as a positive step in the right direction.

“It’s not all going to come from government, for sure,” said Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners. “It’s presumably going to come more from companies putting utilities, automakers, charging companies, convenience stores, gas stations putting chargers in … The fact there’s any investment in it is a good thing.”

Before Biden signed the infrastructure package, U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said the 500,000 charger goal remains “ambitious.”

“We stand by our goal. Our goal is to get to 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. That is obviously going to take strong partnerships at the state and local level and with private providers as well,” she told reporters during a call last week. “It’s an ambitious goal, but I think we’re going t have a plan to get there, also working with our partners at the Department of Energy.”

The DOT and DOE have established a joint program office under the infrastructure bill on how to use the funds, according to Christopher Coes, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy.

DOT officials declined to estimate how many EV chargers they plan to install with the $7.5 billion under the infrastructure bill. The devices, based on their speed of charging, can cost $120,00 to $260,000 for Level 3 “fast chargers” to be installed, according to AlixPartners.

“The goals of our program are to figure out how do we build the market? How do ensure that we are investing in places that aren’t the first places private sector investors are going to go to,” he said, citing inner cities, multifamily locations and along interstate highways.

Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: 1M Tern miles, kids on Sur Rons, LiveWire scooter, more

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

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Wheel-E Podcast: 1M Tern miles, kids on Sur Rons, LiveWire scooter, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes Tern’s NYC e-bike delivery fleet surpasses 1 million miles, the CPSC has a stark warning about Rad’s e-bike batteries, what parents should know if their kid wants a Sur Ron e-moto, JackRabbit MG Doble review, Strutt’s EV1 electric mobility chair, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

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Environment

New electric SANY reach stacker gets to work at Houston Terminal

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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New electric SANY reach stacker gets to work at Houston Terminal

Houston Terminal goes electric with help from Equipment Depot — Image by Equipment Depot.

The Port of Houston took a big step towards electrifying its operations this week, when the stevedores at Houston Terminal deployed the first new SANY electric reach stacker at the major seaside port – and it won’t be the last.

Multinational equipment brand SANY launched its latest 50-ton electric reach stacker earlier this summer. The new machine drew headlines by cleverly pairing gravity and a KERS-style regenerative braking system attacked to its boom to generate electricity as it lowers loads. The tech significantly improved the machine’s operating efficiency and reduced the sort of costs typically associated with charging and downtime.

With the purchase of the new SANY electric reach stacker from local equipment dealer, Equipment Depot, Houston Terminal has begun to do its part to help keep the air and water around America’s busy seaports pollution-free.

“In this market, there’s a shift towards sustainable equipment,” explains Greg Schertz, Sr. National Account Executive at Equipment Depot — a national equipment supplier that sells and services to roughly 85% of US sea ports. “Electric equipment is a growing trend, and it has become more than a conversation point. Actual machines are going into service and are proving their capability.”

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Equipment Depot is quick to point out that the national move towards electrification isn’t about regulations. “The bigger picture is that the world has become more of a global market,” says Chad Larson, VP of Heavy Trucks and Port Equipment at Equipment Depot. “(And) in the port industry, there are many relationships and parent companies with ties into Europe and other parts of the world where zero carbon initiatives are more progressive than the US.”

Robert Marshall, General Manager of Houston Terminal, echoes Schertz’ sentiment, “Electric equipment has a much easier, much simpler maintenance program, because basically you’re just maintaining tires.”

SANY electric reach stacker

Sany launches world’s first 50-tonne energy storage reach stacker — 50t reach stacker; via SANY.

At its launch in August, SANY said its new 50t reach stacker would be available with a 512 kWh swappable battery pack. That pack isn’t just huge, it’s compatible with the brand’s other electric equipment assets, and can support both DC fast charging when swapping isn’t practical and the grid itself by “plugging in” to the company’s BESS modules when not needed.

Houston Terminal bought the SANY unit with help from a Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Grant, part of TERP’s Seaport and Rail Yard Areas Emissions Reduction (SPRY) Program to replace older drayage trucks and equipment at seaports and rail yards. Houston Terminal intends to apply for another TERP grant to buy a second reach stacker in 2026.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Equipment Depot; via AJOT.

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Sandvik gets €500M from European Investment Bank for new, smart EVs

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Sandvik gets €500M from European Investment Bank for new, smart EVs

Sandvik signs EUR 500 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank

The mining equipment experts at Sandvik have been developing next-generation electric equipment options for years – largely on their own. Now, with a €500 million capital injection from the EIB, the company is ready to get serious about its next-generation machinery.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the lending arm of the European Union (EU), and its core mission is to strengthen the global competitiveness, technological innovations, and sustainability initiatives of European companies like Sandvik by providing affordable financing for R&D projects conducted on the continent.

“We have a strong strategic focus on developing solutions that strengthen our technology leadership, and that enhances productivity, safety and sustainability for our customers,” explains Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik. “The EIB financing supports our R&D initiatives and provides flexibility to our overall funding strategy.”

The €500 million loan has a seven-year term, and will support Sandvik’s efforts to develop new advanced, productive, safe, and (above all) sustainable heavy equipment solutions across the company’s business lines.

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Electrek’s Take

We’ve covered Sandvik’s electric equipment several times over the years, from their surface drill rigs to their underground loaders to their quarry- and concrete-focused electric cone plants, and the brand’s commitment to sustainability and operator safety has been commendable. Even the company’s push towards automation and AI, often seen as a corporate tactic to slash labor costs and boost stock prices before the executives ~~bail out with a fat stack of cash~~ fulfill their exit strategies, seems to be genuinely motivated by worker safety in one of the world’s most dangerous environments.

Of course, I said that about Volvo and they’re actively suing California to be able to sell more diesels as aI type this, so what do I know?

SOURCE | IMAGES: Sandvik.

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