Automakers Pit Against Oil Interests Over EV Tax Credit

June 27, 2019—The possibility of an extension for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit has recently intensified lobbying efforts in Washington D.C., pitting the efforts of the auto industry against the efforts of the oil and gas industry, according to Green Car Reports.

According to recent reports from the Washington Post, the companies opposing the EV tax credit have recently become more active in presenting numbers and talking points. American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers is currently appealing to Congress that the proposal to extend the EV tax credit could cost $15.7 billion in 10 years. And the American Petroleum Institute argues that the credit only benefits those who can afford new vehicles—and typically more expensive ones at that.

Among the other talking points is a December study, commissioned by an oil-refining subsidiary of Koch Industries, that suggested that a lifted ceiling for the tax credit would cost $95 billion by 2035.

The American Joint Committee on Taxation already anticipates that the federal government will spend $7.5 billion on the current tax credit from 2018 to 2022.