Former US President Donald Trump says if he wins the election in November, he plans to end electric vehicle (EV) incentives in the US.
“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one, thereby saving the US auto industry from complete obliteration which is happening right now and saving US customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” he said at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he’s accepting the nomination of his party for President.
That’s despite the former President recently receiving the endorsement of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose company exclusively produces EVs.
EVs are eligible for federal tax credits of up to US$7500 (A$11,191) presently, though under incumbent President Joe Biden’s administration, stricter requirements around vehicle and battery sourcing have been introduced.
President Biden also announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs in May.
Former President Trump also criticised the United Auto Workers (UAW) union for “letting” carmakers build factories in Mexico.
“Large factories are being built across the border in Mexico, so with all the other things happening at our border. They are being built by China to make cars and sell into our country with no tax or anything,” he said.
“The United Auto Workers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen and the leader of the UAW [Shawn Fain] should be fired immediately.
“We are going to bring back car manufacturing and we are going to bring it back fast.
“[The Chinese] are building some of the largest auto plants in the world… Those plants are going to be built in the US and our people are going to man those plants.
“And if they don’t agree with us we will put a tariff of approximately 100-200 per cent on each car and they will be unsellable in the US.
“We have long been taken advantage of by other countries… They’ve taken advantage of us for years, we lose jobs, we lose revenue, and they gain everything and wipe out our businesses and wipe out our people.
“I stopped it for four years, we are ready to make changes.”
There’s only a handful of Chinese-built vehicles sold in the US, including the Buick Envision from General Motors and the Lincoln Nautilus from Ford.
No Chinese brands currently sell cars in the US market, unless you count Chinese-owned brands like Lotus, Polestar, and Volvo which are all part of Geely.
The US recently raised the tariff on certain Chinese imports including EVs from 25 to 100 per cent, not including the existing 2.5 per cent duty tax on all vehicles imported to the US.
Former President Trump is vying to beat incumbent President Joe Biden in this year’s election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5.
