The federal government’s push to expand the nation’s public charging infrastructure is also key to meeting Rowan’s prediction.
The Biden administration has unlocked more than $1.5 billion in funding in 2022-23 to build EV chargers across roughly 75,000 miles of U.S. highway, including interstates and alternative fuel corridors.
The program makes $5 billion available over the next five years to help states achieve President Joe Biden’s goal of 500,000 EV charging stations across the U.S. by 2030.
“It’s a lot of money,” Rowan said. “That’s a great thing, and I think that will drive adoption toward BEV.”
Washington is yanking another lever to drive EV adoption and investment in the U.S.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August, includes provisions to boost U.S. manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, including new sourcing requirements for vehicles to qualify for EV tax credits.
The law creates a credit for battery cells equivalent to $35 per kilowatt hour of capacity, with battery packs eligible for a credit of up to $10 per kilowatt hour. It also provides a 10 percent credit for critical minerals production.
Volvo’s South Carolina-made, sub-$80,000 EX90 partially qualifies for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. But household income caps will exclude many buyers from being able to claim the subsidy.
“We’ll benefit [from the Inflation Reduction Act] when we get to the smaller SUVs that we’ll bring,” Rowan said, because it’ll be targeted to “a demographic that’s got less household income because it’s their first car.”
Douglas A. Bolduc contributed to this report.
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