EV shoppers in the US got a slight deadline extension to qualify for tax credits, but some major automakers are still proceeding with plans to scale back their electric-vehicle ambitions.
The $7,500 retail EV tax credit will expire at the end of September. But the Treasury Department released new guidance clarifying that cars must be signed for, with a payment made, by that date to qualify — but that it’s not necessary to take physical possession of the car by then, which many auto dealers had feared to be the case. Still, many dealerships are scrambling to move EVs off the lot as quickly as possible, even if it means cutting prices to the bone.
Executives at Honda, meanwhile, signaled that they don’t necessarily see batteries as the future of low-carbon cars, a reversal that could see the carmaker turn more to hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. Porsche, too, said it is dropping plans to manufacture EV batteries in-house. Even Tesla is facing disappointments: Sales from its much-anticipated foray into India have so far fallen short of expectations.