Commenting on the new federal electric vehicle tax that is expected to be introduced, Rivian (RIVN) said the American automaker was not happy to be left out of the new stimulus.
The US Senate last week agreed to reform the federal tax credit for electric vehicles. It looks like it may finally happen after about two years of work, although a vote is still pending.
The new $7,500 stimulus brings with it many new vehicle eligibility requirements — including new price caps — that look like taking Rivian’s electric vehicles out of the stimulus. The price limits are “$80,000 for zero-emission vans, SUVs and trucks” and $55,000 for electric sedans.
Technically, Rivian’s starting prices are under $80,000, but the automaker has no plans to ship these cheaper versions for a couple of years. In addition to the price limit, the incentive is also only available to individuals reporting adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less, $300,000 for joint applicants.
In an interview with Automotive News, James Chen, Rivian’s vice president of public policy, confirmed that the company believes most of its vehicles are ineligible:
As a result, “almost all of our vehicles would be ineligible for incentives,” Chen said. The company doesn’t even plan to offer a cheaper model until 2025, he said.
The executive argued that this disadvantaged the company:
In a statement and interview, James Chen, vice president of public policy at Rivian, said the upcoming climate change bill would be the result of a political agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va. most going to other manufacturers like Tesla and General Motors, who have had more time to ramp up production or produce abroad.
Rivian calls for the incentive to apply to be extended to its vehicles:
The final package must extend the transition period to give consumers choice and protect high-paying manufacturing jobs here at home.
The new proposed EV tax credit reform isn’t law yet, but it’s the closest thing to law since reform efforts began two years ago.
Electrek’s take
I understand that it’s frustrating for Rivian, but it’s more of a timing issue than an intentional exclusion — although we talked on last week’s podcast about how Ford and GM clearly had a strong hand in drafting the new legislation.
Rivian did the right thing and ramped up the market, and it will be a few years before it can deliver cheaper vehicles. The US EV stimulus was the only one from a major country that didn’t include any sort of restrictions to avoid subsidies for the very wealthy. I think it’s a right attitude.
Unfortunately for Rivian, the timing means it’s left out, but I don’t understand the argument that it’s put at a disadvantage over its competitor because competitors at the same price point won’t have access to it either.
EV automakers that have cheaper options will get them, and those aren’t really competitors, are they?
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