Audi considers first US production plant so its EVs qualify for tax credits
German automaker and VW Group subsidiary Audi is flirting with the idea of implementing EV production on US soil, so its vehicles can once again qualify for federal tax credits under new terms outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act. Audi CEO Markus Duesmann recently shared a couple of possibilities Audi is considering in a potential move to the states.
Audi’s e-tron lineup of electric vehicles has long held a comfortable position as one of the most diverse in the industry. It has continued to expand since its initial launch in 2018. We have since seen an e-tron GT, e-tron S, and Q4 e-tron, to name a few, plus several additional models in the works – not to mention Audi’s growing conceptual lineup of über-innovative EV designs.
Alongside PHEV versions of some vehicles, some Audis qualified for federal tax credits… that is until President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, laying out much stricter qualification terms that were more beneficial to US supply chains.
Those terms kicked in on January 1, 2023, and as a result, only one new Audi EV purchase currently qualifies for federal tax credits, and it’s a plug-in. Last fall, we first covered word that Audi was considering its first-ever production footprint in the US in order to play ball with the IRA terms.
At the time, Chief Technical Officer Oliver Hoffman anticipated the IRA would have a “huge impact” on Audi’s North American strategy and that the German automaker was, in fact, considering building its first US EV production facility, adding a decision could come in 2023.
Most recently, Audi’s CEO has shared a similar sentiment and even thrown out an additional business pivot that would bring Audi EV production to the US more quickly.
Audi could begin US EV production sooner with VW Group
During a recent interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said that the stricter terms in place under the new Inflation Reduction Act have made the prospect of implementing EV production in the US “very attractive.” Automotive News Europe later confirmed these comments.
While the company’s CTO originally said Audi executives were mulling a new EV facility in the States, Duesmann relayed that it is merely one option being considered. Another option is to collaborate with its parent company Volkswagen Group, which already has production footprints in the US and is working to erect more.
Earlier today, we covered news that Volkswagen’s reborn Scout brand of EVs will be built in the United States at a new pending factory. The exact location is yet to be determined, but Automobilwoche, which reported the news, stated the new US facility will also be used for Audi EV production. According to the Audi CEO, however, a decision has not yet been made:
Both are possible. But the probability that we do it within the group is high.
High probability, indeed. It simply makes more sense. Being part of a major automotive conglomerate like Volkswagen Group does have its advantages. In addition to being assembled in North America, Audi’s EVs must acquire and assemble a majority of battery materials on the continent or through a free-trade partner. However, those terms in the IRA are currently not being enforced until the US Dept. of Treasury shares its battery guidance, expected sometime next month.
Volkswagen Group currently has ID.4 EV assembly in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and two plants in Mexico; it is in the process of revamping to build EV motors and other components by 2025. The Group has already inked deals in Canada for local battery materials as well. Audi, too, has a production footprint in Mexico, where it builds the Q5.
This will certainly be a story to keep an eye on as US EV production from Audi feels imminent.
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Global renewable developer and energy giant RWE has halted its US offshore wind operations “for the time being” because of the “political environment” the Trump administration has created.
RWE, Germany’s biggest electricity producer, said in March that it had dialed back its US offshore wind activities. But now, CEO Marcus Krebber said in a speech transcript, which he’ll deliver at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Essen on April 30, that its US offshore wind business is now closed (but it wasn’t all bad news):
In the US, where we have stopped our offshore activities for the time being, our business in onshore wind, solar energy, and battery storage has so far been developing very dynamically. At the start of this year, we reached an important milestone when our US generation capacity hit the 10 gigawatt mark. The construction of a further 4 gigawatts is secured.
He went on to say that renewables have created regional value and jobs, but that the company remains “cautious given the political developments.” RWE has introduced more stringent requirements for future US investments:
All necessary federal permits must be in place. Tax credits must be safe harbored and all relevant tariff risks mitigated. In addition, onshore wind and solar projects must have secured offtake at the time of the investment decision. Only if these conditions are met will further investments be possible, given the political environment.
About half of RWE’s installed renewable capacity is in the US, where it’s the third-largest renewable energy company through its subsidiary, RWE Clean Energy. RWE holds the rights to develop US offshore wind projects in New York, Louisiana, and California.
RWE paid $1.1 billion for the New York lease area in 2022, where it’s meant to develop the 3 gigawatt (GW) Community Offshore Wind with the UK’s National Grid. Community Offshore Wind was projected to come online in the early 2030s and expected to power more than a million homes.
The developer paid $5.6 billion for the Louisiana lease in the Gulf of Mexico in 2023 as the lone bidder for development rights, and the Canopy Offshore Wind project off Northern California was not expected to be completed for another decade.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
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