On the Dash:
- GM has canceled its program to provide a $7,500 incentive for EVs after the federal tax credit expired.
- The program aimed to help dealers move 20,000 EVs but was halted due to regulatory concerns.
- There are approximately 135,000–140,000 EVs still unsold nationwide, and demand is expected to drop sharply in the coming months.
General Motors is abandoning its plans to continue offering consumers a $7,500 incentive for EVs in place of the federal tax credit that expired on Sept. 30, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. The initiative was designed to mitigate the impact of the credit’s expiration and enable dealers to continue selling EV inventory.
At the end of September, GM planned to use its in-house financing arm to make a down payment on approximately 20,000 EVs in dealers’ inventories. The company would apply for the federal tax credit on those vehicles and roll it into leases for customers through the end of the year.
GM Financial began making down payments on the vehicles before Sept. 30. However, the plan was halted after Senator Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer, raised concerns about the program. GM confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that the plan was scrapped, but declined to provide further insight into the decision.
The program aimed to help car dealers move EV inventory, a challenge made more difficult by the expiration of the federal tax credit. Currently, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) estimates that approximately 135,000 to 140,000 electric vehicles remain unsold on dealer lots across the nation.
GM executives developed the program quickly, shortly before the subsidy expired. They were also tipped off that their rival, Ford, was planning a similar initiative.
Despite a surge of purchasing activity that drove record EV sales in September, industry experts and dealers expect a sharp decline in EV demand in the coming months.
