Your New EV Is Even More Expensive Now

Happy Tuesday! It’s January 2, 2024, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, all in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.

1st Gear: EVs In The U.S. Just Got More Expensive

Once upon a time, you could buy an EV here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. and find yourself with a cool $7,500 tax break come next April. Of course, that all ended when Senator and fossil fuel millionaire Joe Manchin threw a tantrum about how the tax credit was hurting his personal profits. Now, as of yesterday, it’s a lot harder to get those dollars back on your purchase. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Many electric vehicles lost eligibility for tax credits of up to $7,500 after new battery sourcing rules took effect on Monday, including the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Cybertruck All-Wheel Drive, some Tesla Model 3s and Chevrolet Blazer EV, the U.S. Treasury said.

The Treasury issued guidelines in December detailing new battery sourcing requirements aimed at weaning the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain away from China. They took effect on Monday.

The number of EV models qualifying for U.S. EV tax credits fell from 43 to 19. Those figures include different versions of the same vehicle type. Treasury said some manufacturers have yet to submit information on eligible vehicles, which could lead to changes in the list.

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The Volkswagen ID.4, Tesla Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, BMW X5 xDrive50e (BMWG.DE), Audi Q5 PHEV 55, Cadillac Lyriq and Ford E-Transit are among the vehicles that fell off the list of vehicles eligible for tax credits.

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Ford Motor (F.N) said last month its E-Transit would lose the $3,750 tax credit, as would the Mach-E and Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid, but its F-150 EV Lighting and the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring retained credits.

General Motors (GM.N) noted all of its EVs would temporarily lose eligibility except the Chevrolet Bolt, adding the Lyriq and Blazer EV are losing the credit because of two minor components.

I am once again proposing my favorite change to the United States government: A maximum age on elected representatives. I think about 50 sounds nice — if you’re going to make sweeping changes to our world, you’ve gotta live four or five decades in the new one you bring about, uninsulated from the effects by governmental power. No more fucking things up until the second you die, hoarding money and power and sending the bill to later generations.

2nd Gear: Rivian Is Starting 2024 On A Bad Note

In this era of greedflation — where corporations are hiking prices to line their own pockets under the guise of “inflation” or “macroeconomic factors” — consumers are tightening their belts. Turns out, groceries are a higher priority than $73,000 electric pickup trucks. For Rivian, maker of $73,000 electric pickup trucks, this is a problem. From Reuters:

Jan 2 (Reuters) – Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) posted a sequential fall in fourth-quarter deliveries on Tuesday, and missed market estimates, as tough competition and high interest rates affect demand for its electric vehicles.

Shares of Rivian fell nearly 7% in pre-market trading.

The company delivered 13,972 vehicles in the quarter to Dec. 31, 10% lower than the previous three months, and below estimates of 14,430, according to 13 analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

Rivian makes some absolutely incredible vehicles, but the actual business side of the operation seems a bit less fantastic. I, for one, hope they can pull this whole “automaker” thing off — we need more big, round eyes on vehicles.

3rd Gear: 82 Percent Of Norwegian Cars Are Now Fully Electric

Here in the U.S., EVs make up about eight percent of new car sales. In Europe, writ large, it’s more like 13 percent. Norway, however, has everywhere else beat handily: The nation hit 82 percent EV market share last year. From Reuters:

OSLO, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) topped Norway’s car sales for a third straight year in 2023, extending its lead over rivals despite an ongoing conflict between the U.S. electric vehicle maker and the Nordic region’s powerful labour unions.

Almost five out of six new cars sold in Norway last year were powered by battery only, with Tesla’s share of the overall market rising to 20.0% from 12.2%, registration data showed on Tuesday.

Electric vehicles accounted for 82.4% of new vehicles sold in 2023, up from 79.3% in 2022, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) said.

The stat is a bit ironic, considering Norway is a major oil producer, but it’s still a benchmark for the rest of the world to chase. They’ve pulled off the mythic EV transition — if they can do it, so can we.

4th Gear: Geely Keeps On Growing

Geely, including all of its myriad sub-brands, sold nearly 1.7 million cars last year. For 2024, the company is looking to pump those numbers up to nearly a full two million. From Automotive News:

HONG KONG — Geely set a sales target of 1.9 million units for 2024, up 13 percent from volume last year, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing.

The company also said it increased sales target for new energy vehicle sales by more than 66 percent compared with volume achieved in 2023, without giving a figure.

I, for one, hope that every single additional car sold comes from Lotus, Volvo, and Polestar. We need more of the sorta-oddball brands in this world, and those three have the financial backing to make it happen. Also, someone should bring back Saab again. I think it can work this time.

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