TO THE EDITOR:
I couldn’t help but note the arrogance in automaker comments in the May 10 edition.
In Hannah Lutz’s “GM seeks to restore EV tax credit,” both CEO Mary Barra and Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America, seem to be begging to have taxpayers provide the incentives necessary to move electric vehicles out of showrooms; to achieve a “level playing field,” in Carlisle’s words. GM — Government Motors, indeed.
Given the pricing structure necessary to (partially) cover the costs of building EVs, these high-priced cars are finding early adopter homes while the mass market generally ignores them. With GMC EVs slated to roll out starting late this year, with six-figure retail prices, this formula seems flawed.
The point is really driven home in Larry P. Vellequette’s “What’s standing between VW’s ID4 and profits? It’s the battery.”
CarLab’s Eric Noble is quoted as saying, “VW shareholders, or German taxpayers, had better be prepared to massively subsidize every full BEV” until solid-state batteries arrive. This spells out how the automakers might be able to assuage government regulators and the media with their “green” claims of futuristic electric cars. But the reality is that taxpayers — consumers — are going to be on the hook for massive subsidies and tax breaks to make EVs really sell.
With Tesla only realizing profit from its green credits sold to other automakers, and now a tidal wave of new EVs over the horizon, the pending shock to the system seems to be severely understated.
TIM PLOUFF, Otis, Maine The writer retired from family-owned Dead River Co. as a distillate and gasoline sales manager.