Trade News

WASHINGTON — Only 10 electric vehicle models will qualify for a full $7,500 tax credit when increasingly stringent critical mineral and battery component sourcing requirements take effect Tuesday.

Seven models are eligible for a partial credit of $3,750 under the tougher eligibility rules, while nine previously eligible models would no longer qualify, according to an updated list released Monday.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, buyers who meet certain income thresholds can get a tax credit of up to $7,500 for North American-assembled new EVs that also meet sticker price restrictions.

Starting Tuesday, the credit will be split in two, with $3,750 for EVs that have at least 40 percent of the value of the battery's critical minerals extracted or processed in the U.S. or in a country where the U.S. has a free-trade agreement, or from materials that were recycled in North America. Another $3,750 is available if at least half of the value of the EV's batte…

Inflation Reduction Act’s EV tax credit timeline

Note: The Inflation Reduction Act includes several tax credits related to electric vehicle sales. The credit for new EVs falls under Internal Revenue Code Section 30D and features more eligibility limitations and rules. The used EV credit is under section 25E, and the commercial clean vehicle credit is under section 45W.

2022

July 27: U.S. Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia reach an agreement on a landmark health, climate and tax bill — now known as the Inflation Reduction Act — that includes a revamped system of federal tax credits for new and used electric vehicles.

Aug. 16: President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law, triggering a shift from the old $7,500 tax credit for consumers purchasing new EVs to a more complicated one designed to incentivize domestic EV production, reduce reliance on foreign supply chains and prevent wealthy buyer…

For Japanese carmakers falling behind local rivals in China’s electric vehicle market, this year’s Shanghai auto show is the perfect place to reestablish their presence. Upstaging Chinese automakers on their own turf, however, won’t be easy.

International names from Volkswagen Group to Ford Motor Co. are expected to unveil a suite of passenger vehicles and flashy concept cars throughout the show, which kicks off Tuesday and runs through April 27. But the focus will be around what EVs are revealed and by whom as the race to electrify reaches fever pitch in the world’s biggest automobile market.

While sales in China have been climbing steadily for Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Co., those of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have plateaued in recent years, or begun to slip.

Historically, Japanese automakers had the biggest booths at major events. That wasn’t the case in Thailand this year, according to SBI Securities Co.’s…

You implement a brilliant plan — and sometimes the results might be more complicated than you intended.

We tell you this week about a series of what you might call, for lack of a better name, unintended consequences.

John Irwin reports on the outlook for the UAW's contract talks this year with the Detroit 3 — specifically on how they might sting the industry's supply chain. His story reminds us that the last contract season in 2019 resulted in a 40-day strike against General Motors. And that development, in turn, caused thousands of parts maker layoffs and whacks to supplier earnings to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. His story makes the point that, this time, suppliers as a whole are not in a good place for a repeat. Since 2019, the sector has been buffeted by costly business interruptions caused by the pandemic and the microchip shortage. Even though the union is itching to set things right with the Detroit 3 on wages and job secu…

The vice president of industry solutions and client value for automotive at Medallia offers advice on meeting the needs of electric vehicle customers. There are reams of driver data that can inform companies, and EV drivers have a particular set of needs, she says.

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NEW YORK — The Stellantis design team has been busy crafting concept cars that show where each of its brands is headed in the age of electrification.

One of the latest creations, the Ram 1500 Revolution concept that debuted in January, is setting the tone for the truck brand ahead of its foray into the world of zero-emission haulers. Its design language can be seen in the tuning-fork lighting scheme of the electric 1500 REV that was shown this month in New York and is slated to go on sale in late 2024.

Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles said the Revolution concept is being used as a discussion piece to see what the public wants in electric pickups. It has features such as removable third-row jump seats and a rail attachment system that allows the seat and console to be repositioned for greater cabin flexibility.

Other recent Stellantis electric concepts include the Chrysler Airflow crossover and the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee.

Gilles sa…

Steve McQueen's 1967 Ferrari is expected to sell for up to $7 million when it goes on the auction block this summer.

McQueen, the actor best known for driving a Ford Mustang in the 1968 film Bullitt, bought the Ferrari 275 GTB/4 and owned it for more than four years. The car, which has been written about in numerous magazines and exhibited in Maranello's Museo Ferrari and at the Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza, was restored to McQueen's specifications from 2010 to 2013 by Ferrari Classiche.

It's likely to command the highest price among the items RM Sotheby's is putting up for bids at its 26th Monterey Auction in California in August. Other lots expected to top $1 million include a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder, a 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition, a 1938 BMW 328 "Special Competition" Roadster and a 1956 Chrysler 300B Coupe Speciale.

Former megadealer Bernie Moreno is taking a second stab at running for U.S. Senate.

In 2022, Moreno dropped out of a crowded Republican field vying for one of Ohio's Senate seats after former President Donald Trump asked him to step aside. Now, Moreno has filed paperwork to run in 2024, and Trump is encouraging his candidacy.

Moreno, 56, is attempting to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is seeking his fourth term.

"Over the past few weeks, Bernie has talked with voters, business leaders, conservative activists and donors throughout the state and has received overwhelming encouragement to run," a source close to Moreno told NBC News last week. The source told NBC that Moreno was expected to make a formal announcement this week.

Trump posted in support of Moreno on his social media site, calling him a "highly respected businessman" who "would not be easy to beat."

Moreno was among more than a dozen Repu…

China's rising automakers will go head-to-head in their home market with Europe's top brands at this year's Shanghai auto show, which once more becomes a major event in the auto calendar after being upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Germany's Volkswagen Group is sending CEO Oliver Blume, along with the head of its VW brand, Thomas Schaefer, and Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, in a sign of the importance of China, which is the group's biggest global market. Mercedes-Benz CEO Oliver Kallenius will also attend the show.

As competition intensifies at home, especially for electric cars, Chinese brands have set their sights on Europe with EVs that have high-tech features and top NCAP safety ratings.

SAIC's MG last year doubled its sales to 113,917 cars in Europe, putting it ahead of other Chinese newcomers to the region such as BYD, Great Wall, Xpeng and Nio. In Shanghai, Nio and Xpeng, along with startup brands HiPhi and Geely's Zeek, will debut Europe-bound EVs.<…

It’s not like I believe in deja vu, like, as a mystical, time-travel thing. But sometimes you get an eerie feeling, a recognition of a similar pattern that makes you think “this ... reminds me of something.”

Sitting in Conference Room 5A of the Crain Communications building in Detroit recently, talking on a conference call with Kyle Vogt, the CEO of Cruise, I had one of those moments. At a time when conventional wisdom is that fully autonomous urban driving might just be too hard to be reliably achieved, he’s talking about expanding his robotaxi business in new cities, each one faster than the last — reaching much of America with a business as large as Coca-Cola before half of the new vehicle market goes electric. 

I started to think: “(Profanity deleted): This could actually happen.”

I was somewhat transported to the glass-walled conference room of the Bloomberg News office in Southfield, Mich., in 2009. The notion of a General Motors Corp. bankr…