EV support programmes under attack at state and federal level
The electric vehicle (EV) market in the US is under threat at federal and state level, as President Trump looks set to roll back stringent federal regulations on vehicle emissions, while the number of states offering financial support to EV buyers has gone from 25 to 16. While critics of EVs argue the industry subsidies should be spent on infrastructure, those lobbying for the industry say that without subsidies, not only will carbon emissions and air pollution increase, but the US could be left behind in a growing - and eventually lucrative - market.
When Georgia repealed its generous $5,000 tax credit on electric vehicles in July 2015, and instead slapped a $200 registration fee on electric cars, sales quickly tumbled.

In the month before the repeal, nearly 1,300 electric vehicles were sold in the state. By August, those sales had all but evaporated — to just 97 cars.

It was a hint of what would come.

Today, the economic incentives that have helped electric vehicles gain a toehold in America are under attack, state by state. In some states, there is a move to repeal tax credits for battery-powered vehicles or to let them expire. And in at least nine states, including liberal-leaning ones like Illinois and conservative-leaning ones like Indiana, lawmakers have introduced bills that would levy new fees on those who own electric cars.

The state actions could put the business of electric vehicles, already rocky, on even more precarious footing. That is particularly true as gas prices stay low, and as the Trump administration appears set to give the nascent market much less of a hand.