Tesla Motors has now delivered more than 200k electric vehicles to consumers in the United States, a spokesperson said, meaning that under the current tax code, tax credits for Tesla EV purchases will start to diminish as of January 1st, 2019. Currently, consumers get a $7,500 federal tax credit for the purchase of an EV sold by Tesla Motors, but that amount will be reduced by half – $3,750 – for purchases made between January 1st and June 30th, and by half again to just $1,875 from July 1st through December 31st, 2019.
General Motors could soon face the same issue of diminishing federal tax incentives on EVs, Reuters reports, as the automaker is expected to cross the 200k-unit threshold soon enough between the Chevrolet Volt PHEV, and the Chevy Spark and Chevy Bolt battery-electric vehicles.
This could end up being a boon for Ford Motor Company EV sales in the US, as the Blue Oval isn’t in any immediate danger of delivering 200k EV units to American consumers; according to InsideEVs, the automaker has sold a total of 108,655 PHEVs and BEVs across the country. That’s more than BMW or even Toyota, but still comfortably below the point at which federal tax credits are to begin phasing out. By comparison, GM’s total EV sales stand at 184,009, and Tesla’s are an estimated 205k.
Being able to rely on tax credits to boost demand is critical for Ford as it prepares to invest $11 billion into electrification over the next five years or so. Sixteen of the total 40 vehicles that are expected to result from the investment will be pure, battery-electric models, the company has said, although some of those could be exclusive to China and other global markets. The automaker’s future Mustang and F-150 hybrid models are expected to be conventional hybrids only, with no plug-in capability, making them ineligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
No Comments yet