Cars Clips: October 15, 2021

Infrastructure Package

Kemp: Democrats’ Budget Provision ‘Discriminatory’ To Foreign Auto Makers In Georgia. According to Global Atlanta, “Gov. Brian Kemp is urging Georgia’s congressional delegation to reject a provision in House Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill that could harm foreign auto makers that have spent billions setting up plants the Southeast U.S. in the last decade and beyond. As written, the bill includes a $4,500 tax credit reserved for buyers purchasing electric vehicles made from factories staffed by unionized labor. The amount supplements the existing $7,500 credit available to all EV buyers and a $500 credit for cars with U.S.-made batteries also added in the bill. Allowing the supplemental incentive to apply to sales for only to unionized factories is tantamount to a ‘discriminatory’ action ‘that would significantly damage the automotive manufacturing industry in our state and endanger 55,000 Georgia jobs,’ Mr. Kemp said in a news release. In a message to members of Congress dated Oct. 8, the governor said he wanted to ‘echo the recent concerns’ sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a separate letter by Autos Drive America, a coalition of 12 foreign-owned automakers including Kia, Georgia’s sole and flagship assembly plant. Foreign plants have set up shop in the Southeast U.S. in part thanks to their status as ‘right-to-work’ states with low levels of labor organization, among other logistical advantages and tax benefits.” [Global Atlanta, 10/13/21 (-)]

Henry Mcmaster: New Electric Car Incentive Would Harm South Carolina. According to SC Now, “South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is worried that a part of the Build Back Better Act will harm the state’s automakers. McMaster sent a letter Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking Congress to consider amending the bill to remove a section that provides an increased tax incentive for electric cars built in union plants. The Build Back Better Act is one of the Democrats’ attempts to implement the agenda of President Joe Biden. The $3.5 trillion bill includes free community college, universal pre-K, expanded Medicare, an extended child tax credit and paid family medical leave. The bill also addresses climate change. Included in the 2,465 page bill is an incentive that would provide increased tax incentives for electric cars built in union plants. ‘The most effective way to grow electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S. is to grow the market,’ McMaster says in the letter. ‘Essential to that growth are more product offerings, incentives to reduce the overall cost, and consumer education. We want the world class vehicles built and distributed by Americans in our state to be competitive and to succeed. By putting certain vehicles at a competitive cost disadvantage by reducing affordable product offerings, the legislation currently being considered by Congress works against our state, undercuts our residents, and hurts the overall U.S. economy.’” [SC Now, 10/13/21 (-)]

Auto Manufacturers

Carmakers Try To Head Off Supply Crunch With Battery Recycler Investments. According to S&P Global, “Investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into recyclers of battery materials, hoping to ease metal shortages, localize supply and make the electric vehicle industry more sustainable. Demand for lithium, nickel and other battery metals will soar in coming years as the world works to decarbonize. Battery recycling is poised to ease anticipated bottlenecks for those metals while enabling battery-makers to keep part of their supply chains close to home. Major players have begun investing in recycling upstarts: Koch Strategic Platforms will put $100 million into recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., and Ford Motor Co. will partner with recycler Redwood Materials Inc. as part of its $11.4 billion electric vehicle expansion plans. Lithium miner Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. already uses recycled materials in its own battery products. And a recent agreement between mining giant BHP Group, Japanese automaker Toyota Tsusho Corp. and Japanese battery-maker Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc. opens the door to expanded recycling infrastructure when metal supply deficits loom. ‘We’re likely to see shortages of materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel,’ said Asad Hussain, a senior analyst at PitchBook, a financial research provider. ‘What happens when every country is trying to decarbonize? We’re all competing for the same limited pool of resources to hit aggressive EV mandates and targets. Battery recycling is going to be an integral part of making those supply chains much more sustainable.’” [S&P Global, 10/13/21]

Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles Have A Weight Problem. According to Fast Company, “Ford’s new F-150 Lightning, the all-electric version of its most popular truck, is more powerful and faster than the previous gas versions of the vehicle, and designed to tempt truck drivers to decarbonize. But the truck is also much heavier, weighing in at 6,500 pounds, or 35% more than the gas-powered F-150. That’s mostly because of the enormous battery inside. A new op-ed in Nature looks at the weight of electric vehicles—and why it’s important to make them lighter. ‘What caught my eye in the announcement of the F-150 Lightning was just how heavy it was . . . and then, when looking more closely, just broadly how much heavier EVs are than their gas counterparts,’ says coauthor Blake Shaffer, an assistant professor in the department of economics and school of public policy at the University of Calgary. Batteries aren’t as energy dense as fuel, and as vehicles get heavier, they get more dangerous. (Even without batteries, vehicles have been getting much heavier in general: Pickups are now 32% heavier than they used to be.) In a crash between a lighter-weight vehicle and a heavier vehicle, someone in the lighter car is more likely to die. Pedestrians are also more at risk. Heavier vehicles also cause more pollution from tiny particles that wear off tires, and they require more materials and energy to produce, adding to the total environmental footprint.” [Fast Company, 10/15/21]