While some automakers are crying foul over a tax credit that favors union-built electric vehicles there may be some consolation in a bill that seeks to provide fleets with a hefty tax rebate on their commercial EV purchases.
Non-union Toyota, Honda and Tesla have all criticized a $4,500 consumer tax incentive in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Act, which applies only to union-built EVs.
The pro-union arrangement prompted Toyota this week to run a 285-word ad in major newspapers asking consumers to contact Congress in the hopes of persuading members to make the $4,500 tax incentive available for all consumer EV purchases, not just for EVs made by organized labor.
“Congress needs to put the politics aside on this one,” Toyota writes in part. “Do the right thing. Treat all American autoworkers fairly. Let the American consumer choose the best electric vehicle for them without needing to pay an extra $4,500 to buy an electric vehicle not made by Ford, GM or Chrysler. And let’s make fighting climate change the priority.”
[Related: The heavy-haul case for electric trucks]
The refundable EV tax credit for consumers laid out in Build Back Better amounts to $12,500 for a union-produced EV. EVs not made by union workers allow for a refundable $8,000 tax credit – $500 more than the current federal EV incentive.
Volvo VNR Electric 4x2 with reefer trailerVolvo Trucks North America
