An electric car, charging in a public parking lot in Los Angeles, May 16, 2024 (AFP / Patrick T. Fallon)
California Governor Gavin Newsom promised Monday that his state will subsidize an ecological bonus for the purchase of an electric car, if the new President Donald Trump ends the tax credit which currently supports sales in the United States .
“Zero-emission vehicles are here to stay. We will intervene if the Trump administration eliminates the federal tax credit,” the Democrat, who poses as leader of the opposition to Mr. Trump, announced in a press release.
“We will not give up on a future with clean transportation – we will make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that do not pollute,” he added.
As part of the ambitious climate goals set by his administration, President Joe Biden established a tax credit to encourage Americans to buy electric cars, of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new vehicle and 4,500 for an occasion.
But this system is threatened by the return of Mr. Trump to the White House. The climate skeptic Republican's entourage is considering removing this financial aid, according to American media.
This decision is also supported by Tesla boss and fervent Trumpist, Elon Musk, who sees it as a way to gain ground against American giants Ford and General Motors. Many Tesla cars are currently not eligible for this tax credit because some of their components are made in China.
“In the long term, it will probably help Tesla, in my opinion,” said in July the South African, who was fully involved in Mr. Trump's campaign and will head a commission responsible for cutting spending public under his administration.
Faced with this uncertainty, many Americans are currently accelerating their thoughts about purchasing an electric vehicle.
The most populous state in the country, Democratic California has long set an example in terms of energy transition. To reduce its emissions, it plans to ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035.
Widely affected by forest fires and storms which are accelerating with global warming, the “Golden State” is also the place where electric cars are most widespread in the United States.
The state has more than 2 million electric, hybrid or hydrogen cars, and represents 30.3% of sales in the United States of new so-called clean vehicles, according to the authorities.
If the Trump administration removes financial aid for the sector, Governor Newsom intends to propose “a new version” of an ecological bonus that his state offered until 2023. This program had facilitated the purchase of “more than 594,000 vehicles” , according to the press release.
Mr. Trump's first term had already been marked by a standoff between Mr. Trump and California, particularly over pollution standards, which were stricter than elsewhere in the United States.
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