There’s renewed hope among electric car aficionados this morning.
That’s because a tax plan unveiled by the U.S. Senate Thursday keeps the cherished (among some circles, anyway) EV tax credit alive, according to details released last night.
Should this part of the Senate’s tax reform proposal make it through to law, EV buyers could continue erasing $7,500 from the window sticker of their gas-free car.
Green car fans found their shorts instantly bunched when House Republicans proposed the elimination of the credit earlier this month, part of a broad range of tax reform measures. The outcry was immediate. Some automakers, most notably General Motors, asserted that the tax credit was needed to keep a fledgling segment alive.
Currently, electric cars make up only half of one percent of the new vehicles sold in the United States. Plug-in hybrids bring the tally to just over 1 percent.
SEE ALSO: Republican Tax Proposal May See EV Credit Program Scrapped
Besides keeping the EV tax credit, which was already due to expire once individual automakers reach 200,000 EVs, the Senate bill also proposed keeping subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and a tax credit for the renewable energy sector.
On Wednesday, Democratic Michigan Senator Gary Peters wrote to Senate leaders, insisting the credit should remain in place for the good of the industry. In that letter, seen by Reuters, Peters said “a new generation of jobs and families will be supported by electric vehicles. Eliminating important economic incentives for electric vehicles would be a step in the wrong direction.”
The bill goes to a Finance Committee vote on Monday, where it could see amendments. After that, differences in the dueling House and Senate proposals will be negotiated before anything can be passed into law.
A version of this story originally appeared on The Truth About Cars
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