The $7,500 EV tax credit is gone, but each gas car still gets $20k+ in subsidies
The $7,500 US federal EV tax credit is no more, having expired yesterday, a deadline which was set when republicans voted to reverse climate progress and channel trillions of dollars from everyday Americans to wealthy elites.
However, that’s not the end of subsidies for the American auto industry, as most gas cars continue to benefit from over $20k in subsidy for each vehicle over the course of their lifetime.
In its mission to make Americans sicker and poorer, the republican party has made a point of attacking cheaper and cleaner transportation options in the form of EVs. It’s doing its best to ship American EV jobs overseas, and instead throw your hard-earned tax dollars at dead technologies where the money will be completely wasted.
One of its salvos in these attacks has been to remove the $7,500 EV tax credit, which had made superior new transportation options more affordable for Americans (and, strangely, it did this with the help of the CEO of America’s largest EV maker, even though it will harm his company). That tax credit was taken away from Americans yesterday, seven years earlier than planned.
So, after inflating vehicle costs by $7,500, republicans feel quite accomplished at taking a step towards their goal of making your air dirtier and enriching their oil buddies which they sought a billion dollar bribe from. And yes, that inflation will increase the price of gas cars as well – when the price of one product goes up, then there is less downward pressure on the price of competing products, which can then raise prices.
Some have stated that removing this subsidy is only fair, and that a new technology should have to stand on its own two feet. But that rationale misses something very important – the fact that fossil-powered vehicles have benefitted from over a century of extreme subsidies, which have been far larger than any amount of subsidy ever received by electric cars.
Fossil cars get far more subsidy than EVs ever did
The International Monetary Fund estimates that fossil fuel subsidies total $760 billion per year in the US alone, with roughly half of that subsidy going towards oil, which is used primarily to fuel cars.
These subsidy calculations consider both explicit subsidies – direct payments or tax breaks from the government to oil producers – and implicit subsidies, or the ignored costs associated with burning oil which get absorbed by the whole economy, rather than by the producers or consumers of the oil.
To explain the concept of implicit subsidies, imagine you live in a place where you have a separate bill you pay for trash pickup. Now, imagine if your neighbor decided that they didn’t want to pay this cost and would just start throwing their trash in the middle of the street and let everyone else clean it up for them. In this case, you and your other neighbors are subsidizing that neighbor’s trash pickup, having to clean up a mess that they are not paying for.
It’s the same with burning oil, but instead of spewing trash into the street, polluters are spewing trash into our lungs, which we then have to pay for in the form of asthma medication, hospital visits, lost productivity, and the effects of climate change.
These costs add up to hundreds of billions of dollars per year in the US, and trillions globally – and in addition to those monetary costs, also increase misery. I’m sure most of us would rather sign a check with our pocketbook than with our lungs.
In another study, the ignored costs of gasoline measured around $3.80 a gallon (although it’s likely that number is even higher now, as the study dates from 2015).
We can multiply this number by the amount of gallons of gasoline an average car will use in its lifetime (at average 24mpg for new cars and 150k-200k miles of useful service, that’s 6-8k gallons of gasoline burned, times $3.80), and find that the embedded lifetime subsidy runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Even for a relatively efficient 40mpg car, that’s $19,000 in subsidy over a 200,000 mile lifetime, based on that 2015 subsidy number.
Now, compare to EV subsidies. EVs received $7,500 per car federally, with some additional state and local credits in certain regions, and some cars receiving lower subsidies due to income or domestic limitations. But lets stick with the $7,500 number as an average.
With Americans buying 1.3 million EVs in 2024 (and a market share of just under 10%), that means a total of around ten billion dollars in total subsidy for EVs in 2024. Which means not only is the total amount of subsidy lower for EVs than the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of benefits that gas cars enjoyed, but the amount per EV is significantly lower than the amount per gas car.
And as long as we’re considering total subsidies, we should consider that only a few million EVs have been sold in the US total, ever. Meanwhile this country has run through more than a billion gas cars, all of which have polluted with impunity.
Solutions are available, but republicans don’t want to solve problems
This discrepancy has been pointed out by many before, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself, who in the past has repeatedly claimed that if subsidies were removed from both EVs and gas cars, that EVs would be more cost-competitive, not less, given the imbalance in total subsidies received by the two technologies.
What Musk said was true in the past and is true now – but he seems to have forgotten one half of that equation, and threw a substantial amount of money towards removing EV subsidies and keeping gas car subsidies alive (and then whining about the thing he paid for).
The actual solution to this issue is to make all polluters pay for the pollution they cause. This should apply to both gas and electric vehicles – each should have to pay in proportion to how much damage they cause. But since EVs are much cleaner, they would naturally pay less than gas cars.
A plan like this has been supported by a series of former republican luminaries seemingly from a different era when the party wasn’t quite as violently anti-American as it is today, and by, uh, basically every economist. And IMF says that if efficient pollution pricing were implemented globally, it would generate net benefits of 3.6% of global GDP and save 1.6 million premature deaths per year.
However, that solution is unlikely to see much discussion, given that oil shill Chris Wright, who is currently squatting as the Department of Energy’s titular leader, just censored discussion of it.
Last week, Wright’s department sent out an Orwellian memo stating that nobody at the Department of Energy is allowed to talk about the subsidies, in a rather blatant attempt to distract everyone from the man behind the curtain (a.k.a., the hundreds of billions of dollars per year the oil industry is fleecing from the public). Maybe it’s time to get a government that’s actually interested in the well-being of its populace, rather than only interested in sucking their dead bodies dry in the name of oil profits.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The German city of Karlsruhe is setting an example for sustainability in waste management by deploying a fleet of 18 Mercedes-Benz eEconic electric garbage trucks that are helping make the streets cleaner, quieter, and a lot less stinky.
Since the end of September, the city of Karlsruhe has been relying on Mercedes’ fully electric waste collection vehicles throughout, with none of the area-specific restrictions or limited rollout strategies for one or two trucks at a time that typically accompany stories like these. Instead, the city is using the Mercedes eEconics for the same stuff they’d use the diesel versions for: residual waste disposal, paper collection, and bulky waste collection.
Normal garbage duty, in other words. And, in such daily use, they do a great job. The trucks cover an average route distance of around 80 km (about 50 miles) on 112 kWh battery packs (usable capacity is ~97 kWh) which can be reliably completed in single-shift operation without intermediate charging — thanks, in part, to Mercedes’ efficient electric motors and regenerative braking that shines in the trucks’ typical stop-and-go duty cycles.
More than a single shift, in fact. The fleet managers report that after “a good 80 kilometers with around 60 stops on its daily route,” energy consumption was only around 35% of the battery capacity, meaning the charge level dropped from 100% to 65% and 64% respectively.
At the same time, CO₂ emissions are significantly reduced: depending on the area of application, each eEconic can save between 150 and 170 tons of CO₂ per year. This results in a total potential annual saving of around 1,200 tons of CO₂ emissions.
The purchase of the electric vehicles was funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) as part of the guideline on the promotion of light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drives and the associated refueling and charging infrastructure (KsNI). The funding guideline was coordinated by NOW GmbH, and applications were approved by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility.
Electrek’s Take
Look, you know me. There is absolutely ZERO chance that I’ll be able to remain objective about anything that’s putting down more than four thousand lb-ft of torque. Make that thing quieter, cleaner, and generally better for me and my community, and there’s even less of a chance of me saying anything critical about it.
Here’s hoping more cities go electric rather sooner than later.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Daimler Truck.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Electreon just took a big step toward expanding wireless EV charging. The Israel-based company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire the assets of InductEV, a Pennsylvania-based firm known for its ultra-fast, high-power static wireless charging systems used by heavy-duty electric transit and freight fleets.
If the deal closes after due diligence and regulatory approvals, the combined company would bring together Electreon’s dynamic wireless charging tech – the kind that can charge vehicles while they drive – with InductEV’s high-power stationary systems. That would create one of the most complete wireless charging portfolios on the market, covering everything from passenger EVs to vans, buses, heavy-duty trucks, and even autonomous vehicles.
Electreon and InductEV together hold around 400 granted and pending patents, and have a lot of field experience across their respective projects. Electreon says that pairing its manufacturing capabilities and global footprint with InductEV’s ultra-fast tech will help streamline and speed up fleet electrification.
Both companies already work with major vehicle OEMs, which Electreon asserts will make integrating wireless charging into future vehicle platforms easier.
Electreon CEO Oren Ezer said the deal would combine the two companies into “a truly global powerhouse for wireless EV charging.” He added that “the decision by InductEV’s shareholders to invest in Electreon is a tremendous vote of confidence in our shared vision.”
InductEV CEO John F. Rizzo said, “Together, we’re combining world-class innovation with real-world experience to deliver even greater value to our North American and European customers and accelerate the shift to wireless power for sustainable commercial transportation.”
Read more: Michigan installs the US’s first wireless EV charging public roadway
If you’re looking to replace your old HVAC equipment, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you’re finding a trusted, reliable HVAC installer near you that offers competitive pricing on heat pumps, check out EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to get a heat pump. They have pre-vetted heat pump installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions. Plus, it’s free to use!
Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The Dolphin Surf is already one of Europe’s cheapest EVs, yet BYD may have an even more affordable electric car up its sleeve.
Is BYD launching the Racco mini EV in Europe?
BYD revealed the Racco at last month’s Japan Auto Show, its first EV designed exclusively for overseas markets.
The mini EV, or “kei car,” is launching in Japan, where over 1.55 million of them were sold last year, accounting for about a third of new vehicles sold.
Although Japan has been a brutal market for foreign brands to crack, BYD believes it may have an edge. The Racco measures 3,395 mm in length, 1,475 mm in width, and 1,800 mm in height, or about 600 mm longer than the Dolphin Surf.
That’s about the size of the Nissan Sakura EV, Japan’s best-selling electric car. Like the Sakura and most kei cars, the Racco has a boxy, upright stance. It has four doors, with the back two sliding open.
Powered by a 20 kWh battery pack, the mini EV is expected to have a driving range of around 180 km (112 miles).
BYD is using its Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs to keep costs down. Although prices have yet to be revealed, the Racco is expected to start at around 2.5 million yen ($18,000) in Japan, putting it on par with the Nissan Sakura.
If it launched in Europe, the Racco could go on sale for under £15,000 ($20,000), putting it on par with the Dacia Spring (£14,995) and Leapmotor T03 (£15,995). The BYD Dolphin Surf currently starts at £18,650 ($24,300).
Although it will arrive in Japan first, BYD may launch its smallest, cheapest EV in Europe after all. BYD’s vice president Stella Li suggested to Autocar that the Racco could play a key role globally as an affordable, entry-level EV.
“In Japan, we are already launching a kei car; we will be very interested to follow the EU regulation,” Li said, adding, “If there’s some space, we can bring that car here.”
The regulation Li is referring to is the new “E-car” segment that the European Commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen, called for in September.
Von der Leyen said that Europe “should have its own E-car,” where “E” stands for efficient, economical, and European, and added “we cannot let China and others conquer this market.”
The Racco could sit underneath the Dolphin Surf in BYD’s growing European lineup. However, the company is focusing on expanding hybrid options. Li said launching Racco was “not a topic” the company is immediately focused on.
The Seal U, Europe’s best-selling plug-in hybrid through September, will be the first vehicle built at BYD’s new factory in Turkey, as it seeks to gain an edge through local production.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024