Summary:

The Driving America Forward Act would raise the cap of electric vehicles per-manufacturer from the current 200,000 to 600,000. It is intended to promote the growth of the electric vehicle consumer market in the U.S. and, in turn, support domestic EV manufacturing by companies like GM and Tesla.

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Main Article:

Electric vehicles are cool and energy efficient, and many come with added benefits such as a free pass to drive on the carpool lanes, making them increasingly attractive to consumers. Improvements in battery capacity, new models, and Tesla’s wildly popular line of vehicles have also added to this allure. 

And there's also the financial incentives, such as the $7,500 federal tax credit that has mitigated the price premium for these cars, putting them within reach of more Americans.

Automakers have responded by expanding their electric vehicle lines and investing in battery technologies. But the effectiveness of these tax credits has started to wane, as only 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer are eligible.

On Wednesday morning, legislation was introduced in the House and Senate that would address this issue by raising the per-manufacturer cap to 600,000 vehicles. The bill, titled the Driving America Forward Act, is intended to promote the growth of the electric vehicle consumer market in the U.S. and, in turn, support domestic manufacturing by companies like GM and Tesla.

The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Jason Hartke in response to Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) introducing this bill.

“Electric vehicles are cleaner, cheaper to operate and maintain, and allow customers to fuel at home with domestic energy. Study after study has found that tax incentives are working to make them accessible to more Americans and encourage their sales. As we’re seeing in states like Tennessee, Michigan, Georgia, and California, the market growth is leading directly to investment in manufacturing and job creation.”

“But as the Commerce Secretary recently noted, it’s still not yet a mature market. Without congressional action, the current incentives are essentially expiring, and that’s likely to stunt the growth of electrical vehicles in the U.S. and damage our leadership in a rapidly growing auto sector.”

“These lawmakers have really stepped up to the plate here to ensure we don’t let the electric vehicle market stall and fall behind foreign competitors. This bill would go a long way to grow the electric vehicle market and make them affordable for more American families.”

“We’re really starting to see the emergence of an electric vehicle economy across the country. Congress needs to step up and pass an update of the electric vehicle tax credit to keep this economic success story going strong.”

Sens. Alexander and Collins serve on the Alliance’s Honorary Board of Advisors.

About the Alliance to Save Energy

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Our mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.