NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tax credits or not, U.S. auto companies show no intention of retreating from a steady transition away from gas-burning cars and trucks, especially given the enormous investment they have already made: since 2021, the industry has spent at least 160 billion U.S. dollars on planning, designing and building electric vehicles (EV), according to the Center for Auto Research.
Most automakers say their ambitious plans for transitioning to electric vehicles won't change regardless of policy changes in Washington. "We plan for the long term, so political considerations aren't a factor in how we approach product development or capital investments," David Christ, vice president of Toyota North America, which is building a battery factory in North Carolina, told local media.
Hyundai, the Korean automaker, which has spent more than 7 billion dollars on an EV factory in Georgia, sped up construction of the huge plant near Savannah and is now building EVs in the United States to try to capitalize on the tax credits for buyers, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, GM, Ford and Stellantis all declined to comment, though their executives have said in the past that they will continue to develop EVs while still selling gasoline vehicles and hybrids. At present, Ford and GM, while profitable overall, are losing money on EVs, unlike Tesla, though both expect their electric-vehicle operations to generate positive earnings in the coming years.
In campaigning for the presidency, Donald Trump condemned the federal tax for EV buyers, up to 7,500 dollars per vehicle, as part of a "green new scam" that would devastate the auto industry.
Trump's transition team is reportedly working on plans to abolish the tax credits and to roll back the more stringent fuel-economy rules that were pushed through by the Joe Biden administration, said the AP report. "It is far from clear, though, that the Trump administration could actually rescind the credits." ■