Taking jabs at the growingly popular electric vehicle business, former US President Donald J. Trump is running for reelection this autumn and is now facing 34 felony counts in criminal court. Trump has already demanded that leaders in the oil and gas sector make large political contributions in return for the Biden administration’s reversal of its climate plans. Trump would drastically reduce EV tax incentives and pull back tailpipe pollution requirements if elected in November. Considering that the manufacturing of electric vehicles has increased investment and employment creation in southern areas, these regulations may prove controversial even with Republican voters.
Electric Vehicles Surge Forward: Market Resilience Amid Political Shifts
The automotive landscape has changed significantly since Trump was elected president in 2016. Despite his best efforts, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) has grown significantly over the last eight years. In 2016, there were just 159,139 electric vehicles sold in the United States; by 2024, that number is expected to exceed 1.5 million (or 10% of U.S. new car sales). This means that even if Donald Trump were to win and immediately remove EV tax credits, the market may already be at a tipping point. Electric cars have bridged the divide between early adopters and mainstream consumers. Analysts believe widespread EV adoption will continue to grow despite his actions, albeit perhaps slower.
William Clay Ford Jr., executive chair of Ford Motor, told the New York Times: “Our time frame as a company, our planning time frame, is a lot longer than election cycles,” Mr. Ford said at an event organized by the Detroit Free Press last month. “When we’re whipsawed back and forth by politicians that becomes really difficult for us.”
The Unstoppable Rise of Electric Vehicles: Will Trump’s Policies Impact the EV Market?
Even if Donald Trump is elected to a second term, the Inflation Reduction Act of President Joe Biden will continue to promote investment in American industry. For instance, Hyundai is spending $13 billion to produce electric cars in Georgia, which Donald Trump lost by just 12,000 votes in 2020. In these manufacturing-dependent states, Trump could be hurting more people than helping his cause by endangering the jobs of blue-collar American workers.
Given the billions of dollars that manufacturers, charging firms, dealership networks, and advertising have invested, it seems improbable that Donald Trump will be able to halt the EV market’s upward trajectory. Republican political bastions like Texas and Florida are moving more and more toward electrifying their cars; in terms of EV registrations, they are only behind California. Republicans and Democrats alike appear to be equally fond of electric cars. To appeal to his ardent following, Donald Trump appears to be using average working-class Americans as a wedge, but we won’t know if this strategy is effective until November.
