With Kia just getting started with the expansion of its U.S.-made electric-vehicle (EV) lineup, the automaker may have a good perspective on what losing tax incentives on EVs could mean for the industry and the economy.
The transition team of the incoming Trump administration is reportedly planning to end the federal $7,500 tax credit on the purchase or lease of an EV. Under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an EV made in North America is eligible for the incentive.
According to Kia America COO Steve Center, the move to end the credit would have a negative impact on U.S. jobs and the whole auto industry.
“It would just be dumb,” Center told InsideEVs on the sideline of the Los Angeles Auto Show. “[The government has] steered the industry in a direction, and I think you need to allow the industry to recover its investments and then let it float.”
Kia and parent company Hyundai have made large investments to bring the manufacturing of EVs, such as the EV6, the EV9, and the new Ioniq 9, to the state of Georgia, partly to comply with the incentive’s requirements.
Many analysts predict that ending the tax incentives would be a hit to EV sales, with some expecting this would lead to an immediate drop of 27% in demand for EVs.
“You’re pulling the rug out from under the whole industry. And quite frankly, it isn’t just Kia and the import brands,” Center says. “A lot of other companies have spent a lot of money trying to comply with the regulations.”
Similarly, the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a trade group with members including the likes of Tesla, Waymo, Rivian, and Uber, has come out in support of existing federal tax incentives for both the production and sale of EVs.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.