Huge EV Tax Credits, Solar Power Subsidies, & Billions For EV Charging May Be Dead — Because Of Kyrsten Sinema
Within the electric vehicle world in recent months, there’s been all kinds of debate and handwringing about how the big EV tax credits or rebates that are included in expected Democratic legislation in Congress should be structured — how much should union-built EVs versus American-built EVs versus just simply built EVs get in subsidies? There’s also been excitement about billions of dollars for EV charging ($7.5 billion in the infrastructure bill that’s been lingering for several months). Furthermore, there’s support for solar power and other clean energy technologies in the infrastructure and reconciliation bills that we’ve been patiently (and impatiently) waiting for the US Congress to pass. There’s one problem, though: all of this legislation might die. Also, as crazy as it is, it might all die because of one senator who was actually once a member of the Green Party but is now seemingly not even a Democrat on this stuff.
First of all, I already wrote about the problem of Joe Manchin. Indeed, he’s a coal man and a total corporate servant who won’t fight for the American people, and certainly not for the relatively poor people of West Virginia. While he’s still clearly a problem, he has a long history of coming around at the last minute, and other Democratic politicians in the US Congress have argued that he’d come through again when needed … if only someone could get Senator Kyrsten Sinema on board. The problem is: no one seems to know how to get her on board, and there’s suspicion that, at the end of the day, she has no desire to get on board. There’s concern (quickly turning into rage) that she has gone 100% to the dark side and simply will not vote for legislation to strongly expand climate solutions and a better social safety net in the US.
Oddly, Sinema grew up extremely poor, homeless at times, and as already noted, was once a member of the Green Party in Arizona. The bisexual atheist, however, has flipped so far from those roots that she might be a good candidate for the US women’s gymnastics team. There are a couple of possibilities of what happened. She might have sat in the Arizona sun for far too long and fried her brain, or she might have just discovered it’s comfy quickly becoming a millionaire and taking money from billionaires and large corporations to do nothing. The latter is the more likely scenario, and Will Bunch of The Philadelphia Inquirer has written an absolutely scathing and brilliant piece on what he thinks has happened. The title of his frustrated examination of Kyrsten Cinema and US politics as a whole is “The trainwreck of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is the cost of not getting money out of politics.” The subtitle is: “An Arizona Democrat’s unfathomable opposition to progress is a win for her hedge-fund, Big Pharma donors, and a huge loss for democracy.”
Sinema has been raising a lot of money from large pharmaceutical companies and certain billionaires in that arena, and now the payback seems clear: block Congress from doing anything.
“Sinema’s opaque obstructionism has become the grapes of wrath for President Biden and their fellow Democrats seeking to invest $350 billion a year to continue child tax credits for the middle class, expand child care, fight climate change and offer free community college,” Bunch writes. “The plan is foundering largely because of vague but obstinate opposition from Sinema and her money-soaked doppelganger Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, when Democrats need all 50 of their senators onboard. Advocates believe the real problem is how Biden and his allies want to pay for this: Largely by raising taxes on Sinema’s filthy rich patrons such as Price and Gates.”
It’s wild to see that Sinema has the power to block essentially all of President Joe Biden’s/Democrats’ agenda, all serious Democratic legislation. It’s crazy that she can pander to corporations and the wealthiest among the wealthy while ignoring the challenges and needs of our climate, our working class and poor, and our democracy. But that’s where we are. On the cleantech front alone, we may never get the EV tax credits, EV rebates, EV charging infrastructure, and solar power subsidies that we’ve been hoping for all week, month, and year. That’ll hurt.
Featured photo by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0 license)
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If you haven’t noticed, Genesis is quickly making a name for itself in the US. The luxury automaker now has 60 sales outlets as it expands into new US states. With new EVs launching, Genesis is eyeing a bigger share of the US luxury market.
Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis brand is quietly emerging as a powerhouse in the US luxury market. Genesis marked its entry into the luxury segment in 2008 as a Hyundai-branded model.
In 2015, Hyundai announced Genesis would become an independent luxury brand. Since launching its first vehicle in the US, the luxury brand’s sales have surged from 7,000 in 2016 to over 69,000 last year. It even outsold Nissan’s Infiniti.
According to Genesis, this is just the start. The Korean luxury brand wants an even bigger slice of the market as it eyes rivals like Porsche.
A big reason behind the brand’s confidence is its new lineup of stylishly electric models. Genesis sells three EVs in the US: The GV60, Electrified G80, and Electrified GV70.
After introducing the Electrified GV70 just last year, the electric SUV is already Genesis’ top-selling EV in the US. According to Kelley Blue Book, Genesis sold 2,343 electric GV70 models in the US through September.
Genesis eyes a bigger share of the US luxury market
Altogether, the luxury brand’s EV sales reached over 4,600 through the first nine months of 2024, topping Porsche (4,291) and Volvo (3,644).
Genesis made a statement at the LA Auto Show, unveiling the updated 2026 Electrified GV70. The luxury electric SUV now includes more range and an NACS port so drivers can charge at Tesla Superchargers. It will go on sale in the first half of 2025.
Meanwhile, Genesis showcased its new GV60 Magma Concept at the event, its first dedicated high-performance EV. The brand sees its Magma performance brand rivaling that of Geman luxury brands like Mercedes AMG, BMW M, and Audi RS.
The Genesis GV60 Magma EV will launch next year, spearheading the brand’s “expansion into the realm of high-performance vehicles.”
Genesis enhanced the battery and motor while fine-tuning the chassis, thermodynamics, and profile for more power and efficiency.
It also features an aggressive new design, sitting much lower and wider than the current GV60 model. Genesis added a Magma-exclusive sound system to give it a sports car-like feel in the cockpit.
In April, we got our first look at the G80 EV Magma concept, which could be a potential challenger to Tesla’s Model S Plaid and the Porsche Taycan GT Turbo.
The luxury brand is expected to launch its flagship electric three-row SUV next year, the GV90. Genesis previewed the ultra-luxury EV in March after unveiling the Neolun concept.
Genesis now has 60 sales bases in the US, with new stores in Washington, Minnesota, New York, and Florida. It’s also building 30 in Canada as it expands its presence in the North American luxury market.
The luxury brand is opening a new dedicated design center in California. The “Genesis Design California” will open in the first half of 2025 as it builds out its US network.
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A rumor spreading like wildfire on social media claims BYD will be taking over NIO (NYSE: NIO) as the EV giant gobbles up market share in China. The rumor was posted by a suspected BYD employee, but NIO is denying the claim.
BYD acquiring NIO would be a massive move as China’s leading EV maker continues to dominate the market. But that’s not going to happen.
According to CnEVPost, NIO’s assistant vice president for branding and communications, Ma Lin, denied the rumors that BYD is taking over the company on Friday.
Ma posted a screenshot on social media asking BYD’s general manager of branding and PR, Li Yunfei if the person who posted the fake rumor was an employee.
Earlier today, the suspected employee claimed BYD and NIO were setting up a joint venture. In a Weibo post, the suspect said BYD would have majority control of the partnership with a 51% share while NIO would get the remaining 49% ownership.
Ma told Li that if it was, in fact, a BYD employee, he needed to issue an official clarification and apologize. If not, they can get the police involved together. Li also denied the rumors, saying the claim was seriously untrue.
NIO denies rumors that BYD is taking over the company
This is not the first time rumors surfaced that BYD will be taking over NIO, but because it is a suspected employee, the post has garnered more attention.
BYD is on a major hiring spree as it ramps up production to meet the higher demand. The EV giant now has over 900,000 employees, making it by far the largest A-share listed company in China.
After selling over 500,000 vehicles for the first time in a single month in October, BYD’s surge is heating up as the EV giant expands overseas for growth.
October was BYD’s fifth consecutive record sales month as it closes in on auto leaders like Ford in global deliveries.
NIO is also gaining momentum, with sales topping the 20,000 mark for the sixth straight month in October. With output of its new lower-priced Onvo L60 electric SUV ramping up, NIO expects to continue seeing higher demand.
Ma said on Friday that NIO’s “recent situation is quite good.” The company’s head of PR added, “Cash flow turned positive in the third quarter, gross profit improved in October, earning an extra RMB 100 million, and Onvo (deliveries) will exceed 10,000 in December.”
NIO is launching its third brand, Firefly, with deliveries kicking off in the first half of 2025. The company expects sales to double next year as it works to become profitable by 2026.
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Hyundai Motors is recalling 145,235 EVs and other “electrified” vehicles in the US, citing concerns about a loss of driving power, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.
The NHTSA announced this morning that the recall affects selected IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 EVs, as well as certain luxury Genesis models, including the GV60, GV70, and G80 electrified variants, from the 2022-2025 model years, Reuters reported.
It looks like the issue stems from “the integrated charging control units in these vehicles, which may become damaged and fail to charge the 12-volt battery. This malfunction could lead to a complete loss of drive power, posing safety risks for drivers,” the NHTSA stated.
If you’re an owner of one of these Hyundai models dating 2022-2025, stay tuned. Hyundai has not yet provided a timeline as to when affected vehicles will be repaired.
To make that happen, the company’s dealers will inspect and replace the charging unit and its fuse if necessary, NHTSA said. Free of charge, of course.
Importantly, no crashes, injuries, fatalities, or fires due to this issue have been reported in the US, Hyundai reported.
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