Inflation Reduction Act is taking effect
Of the three major German premium brands, Audi is the only one that does not yet have a factory in the United States. Such an American Audi factory is now being investigated, mainly because of the subsidies on electric cars that apply there.
Under the name ‘Inflation Reduction Act’, a package of measures has been active in the US for some time now, the primary task of which – as the name says – is to combat inflation. Promoting ‘green’ products and protecting one’s own industry is apparently part of this, as is most clearly reflected in the EV subsidy that applies within this package. This applies to electric and plug-in hybrid cars built in the US. It is therefore not the origin of the brand that is important, but the place where the car in question is made.
This subsidy is therefore not too big a problem for BMW and Mercedes. Mercedes builds the EQE SUV and EQS SUV in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and BMW has been screwing together SUVs in Spartanburg for years. That factory is being transformed into an EV Valhalla, but in the meantime Audi’s closest factory is in Mexico. That can put the Volkswagen branch at a disadvantage in the US. According to Automotive News, CEO Markus Duesmann states that Audi is busy studying the possibility of opening a factory in the US after all. “The United States is an extremely important market for us. We have considered expanding the activities there [met productie, red.]but that decision has not yet been made.”
If Audi does indeed proceed to build an American factory, it will in any case be irrefutably proven that the subsidy has an effect. The American EV subsidy does apply to cars built elsewhere if they are classified as business, under the separate ‘Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit’ label. However, those who really want to fully participate in the American (PH-)EV landscape will simply have to build cars there.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl