Democrats unveil $462 billion electric car incentive plan to push if elected

Chuck Schumer, the senate’s Democratic minority leader, has announced a new $462 billion electric car incentive plan that they want to push if elected.

Electric vehicle incentives are being phased out in the US and while there have been several efforts to revive them, it doesn’t look like the Democrats and the Republicans are agreeing on how to proceed.

Now Schumer has unveiled a new plan that would give American car buyers thousands of dollars for trading in gas-powered cars for electric, hybrid, or fuel cell vehicles that have been assembled in the US.

The plans include extra incentives for lower-income households to go electric and for cars with a higher percentage of American-made parts.

ABC reports:

“Schumer, who contends the scheme would create tens of thousands of jobs, pledged to introduce his clean-car program in Senate legislation should Democrats win control there next year.”

The politician says that the package would be worth $462 billion over a decade and while the bulk of it would go to the rebates, they are also planning $45 billion to accelerate the deployment of charging stations and $17 billion in aid to automakers to increase their production capacity for electric cars and related parts.

Electrek’s Take

I like the plan.

A federal rebate program would accelerate the adoption of EVs across the country and especially help in non-CARB states that have been falling behind.

The fact that it is linked to US-made vehicles is also a protectionist strategy that Republicans would likely appreciate.

As for EV charging infrastructure, you can do a lot with $45 billion.

However, they say that they want to do this if they get control of the senate in the 2020 elections, which basically amounts to an electoral promise and you should always take these with a grain of salt.

That said, if the environment and electric vehicles are important to you, you should take note that the Democrats have been more pro-EVs than Republicans based on their discussions of the federal tax credit over the last year.