As of Thursday, owners of Ford electric vehicles — the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning — in North America finally have the ability to power up using Tesla Superchargers.

Ford CEO Jim Farley wrote in a post on LinkedIn that the charging partnership, which involves use of fast-charging adapters, should “improve the EV ownership experience,” for Ford EV drivers, noting that “I’ve tested it myself and its works great.”

Tesla has forged a similar agreement with General Motors, which was announced in June, giving GM customers access to more than 12,000 Tesla fast chargers in the U.S and Canada. GM CEO Mary Barra said at the time that her company expected to save up to $400 million of a planned investment in building out EV charging stations.

The partnerships mark a strategy shift for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who for years touted the exclusivity of Tesla’s charging network and his company’s ability to build reliable charging locations that would keep consumers from sitting in long lines. Becoming the charging standard has required Tesla to invest heavily in technical and business development.

But Tesla has plenty to gain from working with others.

Sam Fiorani, vice president for global forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said these efforts should eventually yield huge financial benefits for Tesla, including from environmental credits and fees for charging sessions.

Currently, Tesla operates about one in three charging stations in the U.S. Even if adoption of battery electric vehicles slows domestically, and the fleet of electric vehicles is smaller than what the government and many automakers planned six months ago, “Tesla could still see $6 billion to $12 billion a year,” by 2030 from its expanded charging business, Fiorani said in an email.

While Tesla could lose some customers to other brands by making charging easier, AutoForecast said there are other reasons car buyers flock to Tesla.

“People shopping for a Tesla aren’t typically cross-shopping at Kia, Ford, or Mercedes-Benz dealers because they simply want a Tesla,” Fiorani wrote. “Competition will continue to heat up and Tesla will inevitably lose some sales to rivals, but loyalty to the brand means the vast majority of owners will return to Tesla with little or no comparison shopping.”

Allowing other automakers to tap its charging network also opens up some federal money for Tesla under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“Tesla is not afraid to use government regulations for income and has been working all possible revenue streams for much of its existence,” Fiorani wrote.

Tesla didn’t respond to a request for further information.

Tesla reports charging revenue with its “Total automotive & services and other segment revenue.” The company hasn’t said whether it may break out revenue from non-Tesla vehicle use of its charging network.

William Navarro Jameson, Tesla’s Strategic Charging Programs lead, wrote in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday that getting to this point with Ford has required a lot of “interoperability testing” along with creating all the necessary hardware and software integrations and working through legal issues.

“There have been so many pieces to this puzzle that have been put in place over the past 18 months,” he wrote.

On social media, Tesla touted the opening up of its charging network in North America and circulated a link to entice more retailers to host Superchargers at their facilities.

WATCH: Tesla charging connector is on pace to become the North America EV standard

Yet despite the availability of the technology all these years, fewer than one percent of the 489,000 school buses in the U.S. were electric at the end of 2023.

That means nearly all the buses that get many of the nation’s children to school still run on a fuel that sends dangerous contaminants into the air and is carcinogenic.

But that may be changing. The number of electric school buses on the road or on order across the country has more than tripled in the last two years, according to the World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative.

That’s meant ten times as many students riding on electric school buses — from around 20,000 in 2020 to 200,000 3 years later, according to the WRI. The number of states with electric bus legislation or goals also grew, from two to 14 between 2020 and last year.

Still, parents, advocates and organizations come up against a number of challenges in getting electric school bus buy-in elsewhere.

“It’s just a matter of breaking down these barriers,” said Alicia Cox, a mother of two in Jackson, Wyoming. Her state is the only to not have a single district with an electric bus operating or on order.

Cox’s son, a second-grader, often rides a diesel bus to school. As the executive director of Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities, a nonprofit that focuses on sustainable transportation, she regularly calls on school districts, fleet managers, other nonprofit organizations and a variety of agencies to make the switch — so far, to no avail.

One of the biggest challenges is still the cost, parents, advocates, and districts say. Even with the fuel and maintenance savings of an electric bus, they cost two to three times more than diesel.

The Environmental Protection Agency is finally rolling out $5 billion in funds set aside for zero-emissions buses in the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law, passed in 2021. Nearly 440 grants and rebates totaling $1.8 billion have already been disbursed to replace thousands of buses across several hundred school districts in the U.S.

Demand for the money has been “heartening,” said Christine Koester, a director for the Clean School Bus Program at the EPA.

In addition to federal money, advocates have successfully pushed to get funds from sources like the Volkswagen emissions settlement allocated to electric buses.

For those districts that are not receiving funding, there are some options to lease electric buses from contracting companies that supply the buses and equipment, and lease them to districts at an affordable price.

STILL OUT OF REACH

Dearborn Public Schools — a metro Detroit district where 70% of families are lower-income — was ready to explore a new technology when it began operating its first electric bus in December 2022, said communications director David Mustonen.

Bought with a $300,000 federal grant, it’s been operational only about three of the twelve months since then, due to maintenance and a learning curve with charging. That’s not discouraging Dearborn from moving forward with adding 18 more, but it’s a risk others may be reluctant to take.

Other barriers in the transition to electric are that districts sometimes take a long time to approve electric buses; delivery can be delayed, and sometimes electric buses require beefing up the electrical supply for the chargers.

Wyoming turned down funding from the EPA over worries about how far the buses could go and storing them in cold temperatures.

“Even though diesel is not as clean, it’s getting the job done,” Cox said schools and fleet managers tell her.

Even where districts agree to buy electric school buses, many also continue to buy new diesel buses in parallel. And while the Clean School Bus Program requires recipients to replace their oldest buses first, some districts can’t guarantee that, because they don’t own their fleets, but contract for them.

Meanwhile, parents, advocates, and organizations said the switch to electric usually happens when there is a “champion” at schools, but that itself can be a hurdle, said Elizabeth Brandt, the mother of two children attending Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Her children rode on the one electric school bus circulating in her area for about a year before its route was changed.

Parents dealing with their kids’ asthma are less likely to be able to advocate for change, Brandt said.

“If you’re saving your sick time to help your child see a pulmonologist,” Brandt said, “you just can’t necessarily be the one who’s always going to be there on a weekday talking with a lawmaker.”

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

CNBC flew across the globe to meet with experts, government officials and locals to find out how the Scandinavian country pulled off such a high EV adoption rate.

Watch the documentary for the full story. 

More than 1 million EVs have been sold in the United States in 2023, a record, but that pace still lags behind sales in such countries as China and Germany. One key reason is that the limited availability of charging infrastructure across the country has been a widespread concern for many would-be buyers of EVs and has held back their sales in the United States.

Tesla, the leader in the EV market, operates the largest network of fast-chargers. And many of its Supercharger stations are in prime locations along highly traveled corridors, where other charging stations are sparse.

On Tuesday, SAE International, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, confirmed as a new standard Tesla’s North American Charging Standard connector. That connector, known as NACS, links Tesla’s EVs to the company’s network. In June, the automotive organization had said it would set standards for Tesla’s EV charging plug to try to allow it to work with all EVs.

The new standard “ensures that any vehicle or charging equipment supplier or manufacturer will be able to use, manufacture, or deploy the connector and expands charging access for current and future EV drivers across the country,” the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation said in a statement Tuesday.

The standard could help boost consumer confidence in EVs as the White House, the auto industry and other stakeholders strive to encourage mass adoption. President Joe Biden has made transportation decarbonization a top priority and has set the ambitious goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales in the United States be electric by 2030.

Tesla’s charging standard has long been in conflict with the Combined Charging Standard connector, which most other automakers have incorporated in their EVs. Tuesday’s announcement essentially formalizes what has already been happening across the industry this year.

Tesla agreed earlier this year to open parts of its network, with plans to provide access to at least 7,500 of its chargers to non-Teslas by the end of 2024. Since then, nearly all major global automakers have signed on to use NACS with their EVs and join Tesla’s charging network in the future, with the exception of some holdouts including Stellantis and Volkswagen.

“Now, nobody can say it’s just ‘the Tesla thing,’ ” said Loren McDonald, CEO of EVAdoption LLC, an independent industry analysis firm that tracks NACS. “There’s nothing now to hold them back.”

By next year, Ford, General Motors and others say they plan to provide adapters to customers whose EVs are now equipped with the CCS technology so they can plug into the Tesla network without needing a NACS connector. Most of these automakers will officially begin equipping their EVs with NACS starting in 2025.

Senior Biden administration officials told The Associated Press that they expect many vehicles to use both connectors on the road for some time.

McDonald cautioned, though, that the transition in charger technology and the distribution of adapters may leave many EV drivers confused.

“We are still going to have several years of millions of CCS connector vehicles on the road, and they’re going to last a long time,” McDonald said. “Until we know how the automakers are actually going to distribute these adapters, to me it’s really unknown how it’s going to help solve this problem over the next couple of years if you’re an existing CCS owner.

“The reality of all of this, is we’re going to be living in adapter hell for the next several years and that transition, then, is problematic for mainstream consumers who say, ‘I don’t get this.’ ”

At the same time, some automakers are still investing in their own charging initiatives without Tesla. Mercedes-Benz is building its own network, and seven automakers announced plans to build out fast-charging together.

Tesla did not respond to request for comment.

The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, signed into effect in November 2021, set aside $7.5 billion to building a nationwide EV charging network.

The Federal Highway Administration established requirements for federally funded charging stations that require a CCS plug, though it also allowed other plugs. The agency will now determine how the new standard for the Tesla plug meets those requirements.

The administration and climate advocates regard widespread EV ownership as one way to help reduce the transportation sector’s reliance on fossil fuels, a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

On Tuesday, lawmakers were poised to vote on ending purchases of those vehicles by 2035. But that vote seems unlikely to happen.

Gov. Ned Lamont held a news conference in its place to talk about electric vehicles. It happened at the same time a legislative committee was expected to vote on whether the state should ban the sale of new, gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

The goal was to match California’s car emissions regulations Connecticut adopted in 2004. But amid growing opposition there appears to be a change of plan.

“The regs have been pulled from the Regs (Regulation ) Review Committee pertaining to the adoption of the clean car standards,” State Sen. Christine Cohen, the Senate chair of the Transportation Committee, said during a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, which represents fuel sellers, said it applauds Lamont’s decision not to move forward with the vote.

“I think that it’s a wise move on the governor’s part in response to the public outrage about the potential that this policy would have on consumer cost across the board; whether it’s being required to buy electric vehicles that are more expensive, the grid’s inability to supply enough power and the risk of blackouts, the cost of having to install charging infrastructure throughout the state, which would increase electric rates,” CEMA President Chris Herb said.

The governor’s office did not return our repeated requests for comment Monday about Lamont’s apparent shift.

Earlier this month, he wrote in a statement that:

“The shift to zero-emission vehicles is already here. Consumers and car companies are both embracing the change.”

House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said it was a smart move for the governor to scrap the ban and he should instead focus on proposals that control costs and protect consumer choice.

Sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, now account for more than half of all new car sales across the globe, the group said, and it’s not alone. The International Energy Agency, using a narrower definition of SUV, estimates they make up nearly half.

Over the years these cars have gotten bigger and so has their cost to the climate, as carbon dioxide emissions “are almost directly proportional to fuel use” for gas-powered cars. The carbon that goes in at the pump comes out the tailpipe.

Transportation is responsible for around one-quarter of all the climate-warming gases that come from energy, and much of that is attributable to passenger transport, according to the International Energy Agency.

But the negative environmental impact from SUVs could have been reduced by more than one-third between 2010 and 2022, if people had just continued buying the same size cars, according to the initiative, which is a global partnership of cleaner vehicle groups.

One fix for this could be electric vehicles.

George Parrott, an avid runner at 79, who lives in West Sacramento, California, decided to switch to cleaner vehicles in 2004 when he bought a Toyota Prius hybrid. Since then, he has owned several pure-electric cars, and currently owns both a Genesis GV60 electric SUV and a Tesla Model 3.

“This was all a combination of broad environmental concerns,” he said.

Parrott and his late partner also knew their region ranks high on the American Lung Association’s polluted cities list. “We were going to do anything and everything we could to minimize our air quality impact here in the Sacramento area,” he said.

Not all consumers think of the energy consumption and environmental benefits the same way, especially in the U.S. While EV sales accounted for 15% of the global car market last year, that was only 7.3% in the U.S.

Meanwhile, smaller vehicles, or sedans, have lost a lot of ground in the U.S. market over the past decade. In 2012, sedans accounted for 50% of the U.S. auto retail space, with SUVs at just over 30%, and trucks at 13.5%, according to car-buying resource Edmunds. By 2022, U.S. sedan share dropped to 21%, while SUVs hit 54.5% and trucks grew to 20%.

“People don’t want to be limited by their space in their car,” said Eric Frehsée, president of the Tamaroff Group of dealerships in southeast Michigan. “Everyone wants a 7-passenger.”

Large SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia, or Nissan Armada have highway gas mileages of 28, 24, and 19, respectively. But even the most efficient SUVs will be less efficient than sedans because SUVs weigh so much more. A sign of progress, however, is that compact SUVs, such as the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V (at 35 and 34 highway miles-per-gallon, respectively) are now leading the U.S. SUV market, accounting for about 18% of new vehicle sales last year.

More efforts by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are also underway to improve gas-powered vehicle fuel economy and tailpipe emissions. Some initiatives could include SUVs, which has the industry up in arms.

Until recently, consumers had few electric models to choose from if they wanted to reduce the impact of their own transportation. A majority of early electrified car options were sedans, particularly in the luxury segment.

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More automakers are launching larger EV types, but those could require even heavier batteries onboard. The environmental aspect also needs to be weighed if an SUV is replaced by an EV, said Loren McDonald, CEO of market analysis firm EVAdoption. “Just electrifying doesn’t get us much if we also don’t focus on weight and efficiency of these vehicles and smaller battery packs,” McDonald said.

The industry is racing to advance battery tech to reduce the size of batteries and the amount of critical minerals needed to make them.

Figures like those from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative are sure to be pertinent at the upcoming COP28 U.N. climate change talks next week.

__

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

One big change is that you’ll qualify for the credit upfront when you buy a car at a dealership, rather than claiming it as part of your tax return — that means you won’t have to potentially wait months to get your money back.

The other significant change is that all eligible buyers get the full tax break, even if they don’t owe federal taxes. Currently, tax filers receive only as much of the credit as they owe in taxes.

The Treasury Department and the IRS are considering public feedback before they finalize the rules later this year. The changes would be effective as of Jan. 1, 2024, for both electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.

How to qualify for the credit if you buy a new EV

To qualify for the credit, you must buy the car at a dealership while satisfying numerous requirements, including caps on income, how the vehicle will be used and specifications related to how the vehicle was made.

In some cases, you might be eligible for a partial credit based on the type of car you buy and where it’s made.

The IRS’ website has a full list of requirements for new EVs and FCVs that you should read carefully before buying a vehicle. Here’s a look at a few of the major requirements:

• Total annual adjusted gross income can’t exceed $300,000 for married couples, $225,000 for heads of household or $150,000 for single tax filers.
• The vehicle must be for your own use and used primarily in the U.S.
• The vehicle retail price cannot exceed $80,000 for vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, or $55,000 for all other vehicles.
• The vehicle must meet various standards for weight, battery capacity and final assembly location, as well as where battery components or critical minerals are sourced.

The U.S. Department of Energy also has a helpful tool that can show you if your car qualifies.

How to qualify for the credit if you buy a used EV

You can also qualify for a tax credit if you buy a used EV or FCV, for 30% of the sale price up to a maximum of $4,000.

The IRS’ website has a full list of requirements. Here’s a look at a few of the major ones:

• Annual adjusted gross income can’t exceed $150,000 for married couples, $125,000 for heads of household or $75,000 for single tax filers.
• You can’t be a previous owner of the vehicle or have claimed the credit three years prior to the purchase date. Additionally, you can’t be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.
• The vehicle must be for your own use and used primarily in the U.S.
• The vehicle must have a sale price of $25,000 or less and be a model year that’s at least two years earlier than the year in which you bought it. That means a car purchased in 2023 would have to be a 2021 model or older.
• The vehicle must meet various requirements, including weight.

The U.S. Department of Energy has a helpful tool for used vehicles as well.

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German automaker BMW on Saturday launched a hotly anticipated electric concept car, saying the so-called “Vision Neue Klasse” represents the dawn of a new era for the company.

BMW’s latest design showcases a platform that will underpin the brand’s next generation of electric vehicles. The first electric vehicles based on the Neue Klasse — or new class — architecture are set to enter production in 2025.

The new line-up of electric vehicles includes BMW’s sixth generation of battery cells, which the company says will improve both the charging speed and range of the Neue Klasse platform by up to 30%. As a result of these measures, BMW said the overall vehicle efficiency would increase by up to 25%.

“With the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, we put every innovative force that BMW has on the electric side, on the digital side and, of course, that car will also be prepared for the industry of circularity,” BMW CEO Oliver Zipse told CNBC’s Arabile Gumede.

“In only two years’ time, these cars will hit the road, and with that, overall, we lead BMW to a new era of innovation and sustainability. That’s the purpose of our show here at the IAA,” Zipse said.

The Vision Neue Klasse is set to make its public debut in the coming days at the IAA motor show in Munich, which also serves as the headquarters of BMW. The IAA show is one of the world’s largest mobility trade fairs.

“We believe that electromobility will be the largest growth segment in the world for the automobile industry and we want to be a leading force here,” Zipse said.

The BMW chief executive projected that battery electric vehicles will represent 15% of the carmaker’s worldwide sales by the end of 2023 and that “we will increase that further next year and the year after next.”

Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW responsible for development, said the Neue Klasse range represents a “major technological leap” for the carmaker.

‘Not afraid at all’ of Chinese EV giants

In early August, BMW said that it expected ongoing challenges from supply chain issues and stubbornly high inflation to persist over the coming months. It nevertheless lifted the annual outlook for its margin on earnings before interest and taxes in the automotive segment.

Shares of BMW are up around 13% year-to-date.

Asked about the presence of Chinese electric vehicle giants at the Munich motor show and whether he was worried about Chinese exports into Europe impacting BMW’s business, Zipse replied, “No, we are not afraid at all.”

“That is a sign of attractiveness when global players like the Chinese, which is the largest car market in the world, come here to Munich and showcase what they want. It is far more than auto, this is a tech show, this is an innovation show,” Zipse said.

“And I think to have everyone here, the Americans, the Europeans and now also the Chinese, is super exciting. You hear it in my words already, I’m more excited, and I’m not afraid at all, and it is good that we have a show which attracts a lot of competition. That’s super.”

The Burlingame, California, company is a big supplier of buses to transit systems across the nation. A statement on Proterra’s website Monday said that it intends to maintain normal operations and will file motions with the court to use existing capital to keep funding operations, including paying employees, vendors and suppliers.

President Joe Biden visited the company’s factory in South Carolina in 2021 to highlight U.S. electric vehicle makers.

The company said in the statement that it’s taking action to separate its business units “to maximize their independent potential.” It sells heavy truck, van, bus and off-highway equipment equipment in the U.S., European and Asia-Pacific markets.

“While our best-in-class EV and battery technologies have set an industry standard, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds, that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale all of our opportunities simultaneously,” CEO Gareth Joyce said in the statement. “As commercial vehicles accelerate towards electrification, we look forward to sharpening our focus as a leading EV battery technology supplier for the benefit of our many stakeholders.”

Shares in Proterra Inc. closed Tuesday down more than 88% at 17 cents.

General Motors, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Stellantis said Wednesday that they will share in a multibillion-dollar investment to build “high power” charging stations with 30,000 plugs in urban areas and along travel corridors.

The dramatic move is intended to speed the adoption of electric vehicles, allaying fears that chargers won’t be available for long distance travel.

The companies wouldn’t disclose the exact number of charging stations or financial details of the joint venture they’re forming to put the network in place. While they said the first of the U.S. chargers will be ready by next summer, they also would not say how long it will take to build the entire network.

The automakers said in a joint statement Wednesday that they want to build the “leading network” of reliable high-powered charging stations in North America.

“The parties have agreed not to disclose specific investment numbers at this time, but the seven founding automakers intend to work as equals to ensure the success of the joint venture,” the companies said in a written statement answering questions from The Associated Press. “As you can imagine, such a high-powered charging network of this scale requires a multibillion-dollar investment.”

There are currently just under 8,700 direct-current fast-charging stations in the U.S. and Canada with nearly 36,000 charging plugs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Fast chargers can get a battery to 80% of its capacity in 20 minutes to one hour, making them optimal for travel corridors and in some cases comparable to a gasoline fill-up. They’re much quicker than 240-volt “Level 2” chargers that can take hours to get a battery to a full charge.

The new network is expected to have 10 to 20 charging plugs per station, meaning there would be a minimum of 1,500 stations and a maximum of about 3,000.

Tesla’s network, with the largest number of fast chargers in North America, has 2,050 stations and more than 22,000 plugs in the U.S. and Canada, the DOE says.

The network formed by the seven automakers would be public and open to all electric vehicle owners. It will have connectors for both Tesla’s North American Charging Standard plugs as well as the Combined Charging System plugs used by other automakers.

The network will speed up electric vehicle sales in North America by getting people who now are reading stories about holes in the charging network that prevent long-distance travel, said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst with S&P Global Mobility.

“It’s stopping them even from exploring what EV life is like,” Brinley said. The announcement of the network “is giving them confidence that this is going to work out.”

In their statement, the seven automakers said they would use renewable energy as much as possible to power the chargers, and they will be in convenient locations with canopies and amenities such as restrooms, food service and stores nearby.

Brinley said a good charging experience is key to earning the trust of potential EV buyers. “The reality is consumers want to feel comfortable when they charge,” she said.

It will take years and billions of dollars to build out the network, which will need special electrical wiring, Brinley said.

The current charging network, being built by a hodgepodge of companies, is growing but is often unreliable or in poor locations. This has prompted Ford, General Motors and others to sign agreements with Tesla to give their EVs access to its much larger network of fast chargers. Automakers also have announced they’re building their own networks, but Brinley said the moves weren’t enough.

She also doesn’t see the automakers’ announcement as a threat to Tesla. “I think the reality is this is needed, and these automakers are getting together to say ‘we need this’” she said. “Tesla can’t build enough for everyone.”

The automakers will seek to use U.S. government funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law to help pay for the network.

“This joint venture will be a critical step in accelerating EV adoption across the U.S. and Canada, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the network is a response to significant growth that’s expected in electric vehicle sales, and the group intends to exceed customer expectations. “We believe that a charging network at scale is vital to protecting freedom of mobility for all,” he said.

BEIJING — Chinese electric car brand Nio said Monday it is cutting prices for its cars by the equivalent of $4,200 effective immediately, and ending free battery swaps for new buyers.

The move is contrary to CEO William Li’s claim in April that Nio would not join a “price war.” Tesla and other electric car companies in China had cut prices earlier this year in a bid to attract buyers.

The price cuts also follow Li’s comments Friday that the company was delaying its capital expenditure and some research and development projects, according to a FactSet transcript of Nio’s first-quarter earnings call.

Li said the delay is part of an effort to address the impact on cash flow from fewer car deliveries.

The company reported cash and cash equivalents of 14.76 billion yuan ($2.07 billion) as of March, below what it disclosed for the end of 2021 and 2022.

Nio’s decision to “cut non-core projects is too slow,” analysts at China Merchants Bank International said in a note Monday.

“It now also faces a dilemma between brand positioning and profitability, as it has started to cut service benefits, which could dent its brand image and thus sales more severely than expected.”

The analysts cut their rating on Nio shares to hold, from buy.

Nio on Monday also announced it would no longer offer battery swap services for free to new buyers.

Falling deliveries

The latest monthly figures show Nio’s deliveries fell to 6,155 cars in May, down from the first-quarter average of just over 10,000 vehicles a month. The monthly average in the fourth quarter was about 13,350 cars.

Looking ahead, Nio said that it aimed to deliver at least 20,000 cars a month in the second half of the year.

Nomura analysts said they expected the car company can improve its deliveries with new models, like the ES6 SUV and ET5 touring sedan.

“That said, we expect NIO’s implied upside to be capped by intensified competition and limited market share improvement in 2023F,” the analysts said in a report.

Nomura said it was assuming coverage of Nio with a neutral rating. Previously, the company had rated Nio at buy.

Nio’s cash and cash equivalents fell below $1 billion at the end of 2019. But the company made a comeback in 2020 with a lifeline of about $1 billion from investors, including state-backed entities.

Li said over the weekend the company had enough cash to support its business.

However, the company reported a sharp drop in gross margin to 1.5% in the first quarter, down from 14.6% a year ago and 3.9% in the fourth quarter.

The Chinese auto market is the largest in the world. Thanks to government subsidies and license plate restrictions, the local electric car industry has grown and penetration of new energy vehicles has reached about one-third of new passenger cars sold. The category includes hybrid-powered cars.

Earlier this month, China’s top executive body, the State Council, said the country would extend purchase incentives for new energy vehicles as a way to boost consumption, according to state media. It did not provide details.

“Despite short-term headwinds, we believe NIO remains well-positioned with multiple upcoming ramps including its lowest cost SUV ES6, a multi-year EV adoption tailwind and market leadership in premium EVs in China, the largest EV market, EU/Global expansion, and an expanding product portfolio,” analysts at Mizuho Securities said in a note Friday.

Mizuho maintained its buy rating on Nio, but lowered its price target from $25 to $20 a share.

Nio shares are down by about 20% for the year so far at $7.73 a share.

DETROIT — General Motors will follow crosstown rival Ford Motor in partnering with Tesla to use the electric vehicle leader’s North American charging network and technologies.

Under the deal, GM vehicles will be able to access 12,000 of Tesla’s fast chargers using an adapter and the Detroit automaker’s EV charging app, starting next year.

GM, like Ford, will also begin installing a charging port used by Tesla, known as NACS, or the North American Charging Standard, instead of the current industry-standard CCS, in its EVs starting in 2025.

GM CEO Mary Barra told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Thursday that, as a result of a deal, the automaker expects to save up to $400 million of a previously announced $750 million investment to build out EV charging.

The partnerships with now two leading Detroit automakers is a major win for Tesla and its charging technology. It is expected to add pressure on other automakers — as well as the U.S. government, which is investing billions in building out an EV charging network — to adopt Tesla’s technology.

Wall Street analysts hailed the Tesla-Ford deal as a “win-win” when that deal was announced last month. Both GM and Tesla stocks were up about 3% during afterhours trading Thursday.

The deal was announced by Barra and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a live audio discussion on Twitter Spaces. It comes as GM ramps up production of its fully electric vehicles in pursuit of Tesla-level sales volumes in the segment.

It also marks a stark reversal in strategy for GM. Weeks ago, when Ford announced its own partnership with Tesla, GM was working with engineering organization SAE International to develop and refine an open connector standard for CCS.

“I think we have a real opportunity here to really drive this to be the unit unified standard for North America, which I think will even enable more mass adoption, so I couldn’t be more excited,” Barra said during the less than 10-minute discussion.

Adding to the curiosity of rivals partnering: the Twitter Spaces was Barra’s first tweet since Oct. 27, since she stopped using the social media platform when Musk became owner. GM also discontinued advertising on the platform at that time.

A GM spokesman said Thursday its brands and some executives continue to use Twitter but the company has not resumed any advertising on the social media platform. Barra told CNBC after the Twitter discussion that “it’s possible” the company could eventually reinstate advertising, as the company searches for a new chief marketer and is “reimagining” its marketing.

The GM-Tesla deal, like Ford’s, is likely to be beneficial for both companies. It is expected to more than double access to fast chargers for GM’s and Ford’s customers and increase use of Tesla’s network.

Tesla says it has roughly 45,000 Supercharger connectors worldwide at 4,947 Supercharger Stations. The company does not break out how many are in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Energy reports the country only has about 5,300 CCS fast chargers.

Tesla previously discussed opening its private network to other EVs. White House officials announced in February that Tesla committed to opening up 7,500 of its charging stations to non-Tesla EV drivers by the end of 2024.

Musk on Thursday said Tesla owners will not be given priority to the company’s chargers, calling access “an even playing field” for EV owners.

“The most important thing is that we’ve witnessed the electric vehicle revolution,” Musk said.

Public charging of electric vehicles is a major concern for potential buyers, and no automaker other than Tesla has successfully built out its own network. Instead, those automakers have announced partnerships with third-party companies that have often proven unreliable and frustrating to owners.

Most U.S. drivers log vehicle miles from home to locations nearby. But EV buyers who want to take longer road trips, or who don’t have access to a garage with a charger, often worry about access to reliable, public charging.

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and John Rosevear contributed to this report.

The companies will split the investment, starting production as soon as late 2025.

Hyundai Motor Co. CEO Jaehoon Chang said in a statement that the battery plant would “create a strong foundation to lead the global EV transition,” explaining the company wants to speed up efforts to produce electrified Hyundai and Kia vehicles in North America.

“Hyundai Motor Group is focusing on its electrification efforts to secure a leadership position in the global auto industry,” Chang said.

The South Korean automaker said in 2022 it would invest $5.5 billion to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell, just west of Savannah. The site is supposed to have 8,100 employees and is slated to begin producing vehicles in 2025.

Garrison Douglas, a Kemp spokesperson, said the 3,000-job battery plant would be part of the 8,100 overall jobs and the $4.3 billion investment would be part of the previously announced $5.5 billion total.

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The Hyundai/LG plant is supposed to be able to supply batteries for 300,000 electric vehicles per year, which is the initial projected production of the adjoining vehicle assembly plant. Hyundai has said the Georgia plant could later expand to build 500,000 vehicles annually.

“This is exactly what we envisioned when Georgia landed the Hyundai Metaplant in May of last year, and this project is the latest milestone in Georgia’s path to becoming the EV capital of the nation,” Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, said in a statement.

In addition to the assembly and battery plants, auto parts suppliers have pledged to invest more than $2 billion and hire 4,800 people in the region around the Hyundai site.

The announcements are part of an electric vehicle and battery land rush across the United States. Under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, EVs must be assembled in North America, and a certain percentage of their battery parts and minerals must come from North America or a U.S. free trade partner to qualify for a full $7,500 EV tax credit.

Currently, no Hyundai or Kia vehicles are eligible for the tax credit.

“The IRA’s manufacturing incentives continue to bring jobs and investment to Georgia,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said in a statement. “My goal remains to make Georgia the world leader in advanced energy production.

LG said this would be its seventh battery plant in operation or under construction in the U.S., saying it was concentrating efforts to expand production in the country, in one example of how federal incentives are luring manufacturers.

This is the second huge electric battery plant that Hyundai is partnering to build in Georgia. Hyundai and SK On, a unit of South Korea’s SK Group, announced in December they would jointly invest $4 billion to $5 billion to build a new plant northwest of Atlanta that would supply electric batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles assembled in the U.S. That plant, in Cartersville, is planned to begin production in 2025 and employ a projected 3,500 people.

Hyundai will need batteries for more than just vehicles made in Ellabell. The company is already assembling electric vehicles at its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and announced in April it would start assembling its electric Kia EV9 large SUV at the Kia plant in West Point, Georgia.

Partnering with LG and SK also will diversify Hyundai’s supplier base, giving the automaker more than one battery manufacturer from which to buy.

Because the battery plant is part of the overall Hyundai complex, Douglas said no additional incentives would be offered.

The state of Georgia and local governments already have pledged $1.8 billion in tax breaks and other incentives. It’s the largest subsidy package a U.S. state has ever promised an automotive plant, according to Greg LeRoy, executive director Good Jobs First, a group skeptical of subsidies to private companies.

Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the agreement Thursday during a “Twitter Spaces” audio chat.

“We think this is a huge move for our industry and for all electric customers,” Farley said.

Musk said he didn’t want Tesla’s network to be a “walled garden” and that he wants to use it to support sustainable transportation.

“It is our intent to do everything possible to support Ford and have Ford be on an equal footing at Tesla Superchargers,” Musk said.

Farley said there will be a cost to Ford owners, perhaps a monthly subscription, but he didn’t give specifics. Details of any financial arrangement between Ford and Tesla were not announced.

At first, Ford’s current electric vehicles will need an adapter to hook into the Tesla stations, which have their own connector. But Ford will switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard connector with its second-generation EVs starting in 2025, Farley said.

Ford said Tesla’s connector is smaller and lighter than those in use by other automakers.

Farley said Tesla’s Superchargers have great locations.

“We love the locations. We love the reliability,” he said. They will join Ford’s own Blue Oval charging network which has about 10,000 fast-charging stations, he said.

Ford EV owners will be able to access the Tesla chargers seamlessly with Ford’s app, Musk said.

Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the U.S. There are about 54,000 public charging stations in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, but many charge much more slowly than the Tesla stations.

The Ford-Tesla deal is separate from a plan to open part of Tesla’s charging network to all EVs.

The White House announced in February that at least 7,500 chargers from Tesla’s Supercharger and Destination Charger network would be available to non-Tesla electric vehicles by the end of 2024.

The chat between Musk, who last fall bought Twitter for $44 billion, and Farley came off without the embarrassing technical glitches that plagued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announcement Wednesday that he was running for president.

With Musk, DeSantis released the news that he would seek the Republican nomination, but the chat was delayed by glitches for nearly a half hour. Musk blamed it on straining of servers because so many were trying to listen in.

The Farley-Musk chat had a much smaller audience, than DeSantis, about 18,000 listeners at the start.

The number on the DeSantis chat topped out at 420,000, far from the millions who have watched televised presidential announcements. After the problems were fixed, the audience remained under 500,000.

The Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act, also known as “E-BIKE Act”, was introduced in March and is sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.).

The bill is a revamped version of a 2021 legislation that was eventually cut out of the final draft of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. 

“Many people are looking to get out of their cars and get on to e-bikes not just for recreation, but also for transportation purposes,” Panetta said in a statement. “By incentivizing Americans to own and use e-bikes, we are allowing them the chance to help improve the quality of life in our communities and tackle the climate crisis in our country.” 

According to the Light Electric Vehicle Association, an organization that promotes the sale of EVs nationwide, electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular around the world. In the U.S. alone, e-bike sales are outpacing electric and hybrid cars combined.

E-Bike tax credits have already been introduced in some cities across the country. In Denver, residents can already apply for a rebate of up to $1,200 per person. The rebate was so popular the city had to pause the program to catch up with demand, the Washington Post reported.

Other cities like Austin, Texas, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, also offer similar programs.

So, who qualifies for the E-Bike tax credit?

The 2021 proposal only allowed those who earned under $75,000 a year (or $150,000 for couples) to obtain the tax credit for bikes that cost less than $4,000. However, the 2023 version allows anyone who earns up to $150,000 a year (or up to $300,000 for couples), to obtain a tax credit of 30% off, or up to $1,500.

The credit also applies to e-bikes that cost less than $8,000.

Will the legislation Become Law?

While this year’s bill has more bipartisan support, Democrats will need to be joined by some of the House-controlling Republicans to pass it to the Senate.

The bill remains in its early stages in the House of Representatives.

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BYD Auto is part of a wave of Chinese electric car exporters that are starting to compete with Western and Japanese brands in their home markets. They bring fast-developing technology and low prices that Tesla Inc.’s chief financial officer says “are scary.”

Furukawa said he ordered an ATTO 3 when it went on sale Jan. 31, for its user-friendly features and appealing price of 4.4 million yen or $33,000 — or about one-quarter less than a Tesla.

“It’s perfect,” Furukawa said in his office in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo.

Other ambitious Chinese EV exporters include NIO, Geely Group’s Zeekr and Ora, a unit of SUV maker Great Wall Motors.

Some compete on price. Others emphasize performance and features, putting pressure on Western and Japanese premium brands.

NIO Inc., which has persuaded buyers in China to pay Tesla-level sticker prices of up to 555,000 yuan or $80,000, says its latest SUV goes on sale this year in Europe. The ES6 boasts voice-activated controls and a range of 380 miles on a charge.

“We are very confident the ES6 will compete in this premium SUV market,” NIO’s founder and CEO, William Li, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show.

Sales of battery-powered vehicles and gasoline-electric hybrids in China almost doubled last year to 6.9 million vehicles, or half the global total.

That was supported by multibillion-dollar subsidies from the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to make China a creator of clean energy and other technologies. That rattles U.S. and European leaders who see China as a strategic and industrial competitor.

Chinese brands are “serious competition,” according to David Leah, an analyst for GlobalData.

They have “more competitive battery technology” and can “achieve greater economies of scale,” Leah said in an email.

BYD Auto, owned by battery maker BYD Co., edged ahead of Tesla in total 2022 sales at 1.9 million vehicles. Half were gasoline-electric hybrids, while Tesla’s fleet is pure electric.

“We have a lot of respect for the car companies in China,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a Jan. 25 conference call with financial analysts. “They work the hardest and they work the smartest.”

Chinese brands are developing EVs to compete without subsidies as Beijing shifts the burden to the industry by requiring them to earn credits for selling electrics. Prices start as low as 100,000 yuan or $14,500 for a compact SUV with a 250-mile range on one charge.

“The Chinese are scary,” Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn said on the analyst call.

Chinese EV brands mix research and design centers in the United States and Europe with factories in China.

Geely’s Zeekr plans to launch an all-electric sedan and an SUV this year in the Netherlands and Sweden. Its mini-United Nations of Chinese and European designers is in Gothenberg, Sweden, adjacent to Volvo Cars, another Geely brand, while its factories are in China.

“Our ambition is to be a key player in electrified mobility in Europe within this decade,” said Zeekr CEO Spiros Fotinos, a Toyota and Lexus veteran. With a “clear global ambition,” he said, “we’re looking at the opportunities and right timing for other markets.”

CEO Carlos Tavares of Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Peugeot and FIAT, warned in January that Europe needs a strategy to compete with China’s lower prices. European-made electrics cost 40% more than Chinese models, according to Tavares.

“It’s a very bleak scenario,” Tavares told German magazine Automobilwoche. “But it doesn’t have to go that way.”

BYD Auto’s exports quadrupled last year to 55,916 sedans, SUVs and hatchbacks. Most went to India, Thailand, Brazil and other developing markets. BYD announced a 1,000-vehicle sale last year to Mexico’s VEMO for the biggest EV taxi fleet outside China.

State-owned BAIC, headquartered in Beijing, said a dealer in Jordan ordered 1,000 units of its compact EU5 sedan in January. The company said it plans to launch two to three more electric vehicles in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Europe.

What about the United States, the biggest, richest market?

Chinese EV brands are skittish about a sprawling country that demands big investments in dealerships and charging networks, especially while Washington and Beijing are feuding over security, technology and human rights.

“This is not an easy task,” said NIO’s Li. “Our products and services need to be prepared.”

BYD Auto has been in the U.S. market for a decade selling battery-powered transit buses assembled at a factory northeast of Los Angeles. It is “still in the process” of deciding whether to sell SUVs and sedans to Americans, the company said in a written response to questions.

Political tensions “make it difficult for a Chinese company to launch, EV or otherwise,” in the United States, Leah said.

In Europe, Great Wall’s Ora sells its 03 model starting at 140,000 yuan or $20,000. Ora tries to stand out among dozens of fledgling brands by marketing its cars as being designed for women, their body sizes and daily needs.

“This is a second or third car for a household. It can be used by a wife or daughter to commute to work, to go out with friends or to go shopping,” said Ora’s deputy general manager, Tan Jian.

In Europe, BYD Auto has partnerships with dealership chains in Britain, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The company says it also has delivered cars in Belgium, Denmark and Austria. It has a deal with European rental company SIXT that BYD says will lead to sales of up to 100,000 vehicles over the next six years.

In Japan, BYD Auto plans to have 100 showrooms by the end of 2025. Its Dolphin hatchback and Seal sedan are due to hit the Japanese market this year. The company says it also has exported some 4,000 ATTO 3s to Australia.

Furukawa’s OZ Co. converts Volkswagen Beetles and other classic models by replacing gasoline engines with batteries and electric motors. Furukawa said he drives his ATTO 3 every day and has gone as far as Osaka, 250 miles away.

BYD Auto’s Yokohama showroom, which opened Feb. 2, is surrounded by dealerships for established brands including Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Volkswagen and Chevrolet.

A married father of one said he looked at Japanese models but bought an ATTO 3 for its roominess and price.

“I like the ride, and it’s easy to drive,” said the buyer, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Ohta. “There are so many good features.”

Ohta’s father had a “negative reaction” about BYD being from China, which has a history of strained relations with Japan. But Ohta said his job in the electronic games industry has taught him to respect Chinese innovation.

“They are coming out with excellent products,” Ohta said. “I have respect for the nation.”

___

McDonald reported from Shanghai.

NYC subway, bus and commuter rail riders may find themselves hustling for space as the MTA enacts a new policy allowing personal electric vehicles — like scooters and ebikes — throughout the mass transit system.

The agency outlined the plan when it officially adopted the change Monday and stressed a host of safety rules. The idea is to increase access to MTA transit points for people who don’t live within walking distance from stations, which is part of an overarching strategy to combat some of the financial losses the agency incurred over the last few years.

So does this mean anyone can haul one of these devices, which can be quite unwieldy, aboard any MTA anything?

Not quite. First, no hoverboards. No Citi Bikes or other rentals either. And express buses are off-limits. That means no personal electric vehicles (PEV), foldable or otherwise.

Here the key do’s and don’ts:

• No charging PEVs in or on any MTA train, subway, bus, platform, station, facility or terminal
• No riding either
• If the PEV can be folded, it must e folded or compacted and carried; it must stay off during transport
• Keep doors, seats, aisles and emergency equipment clear
• Never leave PEVs or their batteries unattended, discarded, stored or locked to any MTA asset, or abandoned for any reason
• 100-pound weight limit
• Wheel diameter can’t exceed 27 inches or be more than 80 inches long or 48 inches high
• Must use Underwriter Laboratory (UL)-certified batteries; must not emit environmental contaminants or have damaged batteries

The rules apply to everyone who uses the mass transit system. Violations can range from penalties to fines to being kicked out of the transit system, the MTA says. See the full policy details here.

“An accessible transit system that is reachable and convenient to use benefits all New Yorkers,” NYC Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement. “System accessibility is essential for all MTA riders and this policy allows riders in less well-served areas to better connect with the transit system in a safe manner.”

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DEARBORN, Mich. — New video footage of a fire involving a Ford F-150 Lightning this year highlights a growing concern around electric vehicles: volatile fires from the batteries that power them.

The previously unreleased footage, which CNBC obtained through Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act from the Dearborn Police Department, shows smoke billowing from three tightly packed electric pickups in a Ford Motor holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan.

Moments later, flames shoot several feet above the vehicles, which were unoccupied. It wasn’t clear based on public documents and police video how long the fires burned. Experts say EV fires can take hours, rather than minutes, to extinguish.

EV fires have become a growing concern as automakers push to increase sales of electric vehicles and meet tightening emissions standards.

The Biden administration has set a target for half of new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 to be electric. Automakers are spending billions of dollars to electrify their lineups. However, there’s been little to no discussion about first responder training for when the vehicles catch fire, whether due to a malfunction or, more commonly, a crash.

The Feb. 4 holding lot fire at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn prompted the company to quickly halt production of the new pickup for five weeks. The automaker also recalled 18 of the vehicles, which Ford has likened to the Model T in terms of importance to the company.

Ford identified the root cause as related to battery cell production made by supplier, SK On.

Police officers responding to the blaze described the vehicles as being “engulfed in flames” and can be heard on video worrying that the vehicles could “blow up.” Lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in EVs, can be volatile and extremely difficult to put out once on fire.

“We’re not putting this f—er out. Look at it,” said one responding officer during the February F-150 Lightning fire.

First responders can be heard on video expressing concern about how much water is needed to put out EV fires and whether a special foam would be required. They also questioned the viability and safety of electric vehicles.

“They have to put like a whole f—ing lake on it to put them out,” the same officer said during the Feb. 4 event.

The footage obtained by CNBC totaled about two hours of video, including overlapping footage, from 17 police bodycams and vehicle dashcams between 3:36 p.m. and 4:22 p.m. ET, according to time stamps on the bodycam videos.

Photos obtained from Dearborn Police through a separate Michigan FOIA request show the aftermath of the blaze. One of the three vehicles is barely recognizable, with its body nearly melted down to the ground. The two neighboring vehicles were also heavily damaged.

“There was only one [vehicle on fire] when we got here. They’re catching. It’s these frickin’ batteries,” that same responding officer said, according to the footage.

The F-150 Lightning fire occurred while the vehicle was charging in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check and was caused by an internal short circuit due to a manufacturing issue when cells in the battery were at a high state of charge, according to public documents associated with the recall. Ford said engineers determined there was no evidence of a charging fault.

“Together with SK On, we confirmed the root causes and swiftly implemented quality actions,” Ford said in a statement to CNBC. “The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center has been back up and running since March 13 and is back to full production and shipping vehicles to customers.”

The fire added to ongoing quality and execution issues that have plagued the automaker as it attempts to restructure its business and position itself better for EVs.

Growing concern

Vehicle fires are not new. They regularly occur in traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. But the fires that can result from EVs such as the F-150 Lightning and their batteries are increasingly worrying for first responders across the country, in part because they involve a chain reaction between battery cells known as thermal runaway.

Such fires also are a growing problem for automakers who could lose the momentum they’ve built with car buyers and climate-conscious lawmakers if the risk continues shaking public confidence in the technology.

Fires involving EV batteries can burn hotter and longer and require new techniques to extinguish.

A report from the Dearborn Fire Department, which responded to the February Lightning fire, said one of the vehicles was determined to be “un-extinguishable” and firefighters had to contact a colleague with “expertise in EV technology” on what to do.

“This is a big issue globally,” said Michael O’Brian, board member of the International Fire Chiefs Association, who leads fire and life safety. “We need to better understand what the best processes are through testing and evaluation with real firefighters.”

EVs are powered by a series of battery cells inside an airtight pack that’s designed to prevent any substances from passing in or out. The packs also are mainly built into the underbodies or frames of the vehicles, a spot that can be difficult for first responders to reach. And even if they could easily access the cells, the “fire” is actually a chemical reaction and far more difficult to handle than a traditional gasoline fire.

“You’re now dealing with a vehicle that doesn’t work like anything else you’ve been taught,” said David Dalrymple, a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey who owns a first response training and consulting business called RoadWay Rescue. “It’s a totally different animal. … The primary goal is to cool it down to take away that chemical reaction.”

Dalrymple, who also serves on a Society of Automotive Engineers committee focusing on EV fire issues and standards, noted some other countries allow first responders to look up what hazardous materials are in a vehicle based on the license plate. A similar system could be useful in the U.S., he said.

Experts are still trying to determine EV fire incident rates; the data is difficult to collect from disparate fire departments. Vehicle fires involving internal combustion engines are far more common than EVs, however experts expect that to continually even out as more electrified vehicles are sold. 

Problems with plug-in vehicles that use such batteries have led automakers including Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Porsche to recall models. GM from 2020 to 2021 had to recall all of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models built up to that point due to a battery issue that resulted in several reported fires.

As a result, GM expanded an ongoing nationwide program to educate public safety, fire and emergency service providers on how to most effectively handle emergency situations involving electric vehicles.

The state of Virginia has taken it upon itself to train firefighters. A bill that requires them to complete a training program about the risk of electric vehicle fires passed unanimously this year.

Trial by fire

Firefighters increasingly are facing the challenges created by EV fires. This is made more complicated by what some experts say is a lack of regulations and standards, which allows automakers to do as they like regarding the design and rollout of EVs.

For more than a century, first responders have quite easily extinguished vehicle engine fires by popping the hood and drowning the area in water. That playbook doesn’t work with EVs.

Each vehicle is unique and may require different techniques to extinguish, which means there are no set standards for putting out an EV fire.

Current best practices for an EV fire, depending on who you speak with, include submerging the vehicles in water, piercing the battery pack and inundating it with water, disabling a vehicle’s 12-volt circuit, or simply letting the fire burn until it’s out, emitting chemical toxins into the air.

O’Brian, a fire chief in suburban Brighton outside of Detroit, said the bigger the battery, the higher the concern for first responders. He also noted that new battery plants to produce the cells for the vehicles often cost billions of dollars, highlighting what he saw as comparatively little funding being directed to the training of fire departments.

“I continue to keep advocating that both state and federal government needs to truly invest within the fire service on this topic for training, best practices, lab time,” O’Brian said. “It’s as simple as what’s the best way to turn up your efforts when exposed to lithium-ion off-gassing” when the vehicles catch fire.

O’Brian said once the thermal runaway starts there’s really no putting the fire out unless you stop the chain reaction of lithium-ion cells from overheating.

It’s unclear how many, if any, people have died from an electric vehicle spontaneously catching fire. There have been reports of fatal fires following crashes, but many times EVs have caught fire when charging and unoccupied.

There’s also the risk of reignition: Lithium-ion battery fires can re-engage weeks later with little to no warning. The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to such an incident last year involving a Tesla that had been in an accident three weeks prior.

Once the F-150 Lightning fire was under control on Feb. 4, Ford had security monitoring the vehicles throughout the night in case they become “involved again,” according to the Dearborn Fire Department report.

William Lerner, an independent safety tech inventor and delegate for the International Organization for Standardization, said best practices would call for a three-week monitoring period after a fire, with particular attention during the first 24 hours.

Lerner, who works closely with first responders and their trainers, expressed concern that first responders may not have the appropriate personal protection and safety equipment to handle the fires. He said the equipment used for a traditional vehicle fire may not suffice.

“The whole way of dealing with this is completely different,” he said. “The only similarities are they have four wheels, and they look like cars. It’s a completely different product, and that’s the problem.”

Ford, in its Emergency Response Guide for the 2022 Lightning, broadly details some issues about the potential for reignition in the event of a fire and suggests storing the vehicle outside or at least 50 feet away from other objects. It does not offer a solution for putting out a battery fire other than “LARGE amounts of water” or using a “Class ABC powder-type extinguisher to contain and smother the flames.”

Ford said the company “took part in an information-sharing session on how to handle battery fires in summer 2022 with members of the Dearborn fire department.”

“We continue to look at opportunities to help educate on this topic,” the automaker said.

Dearborn Police Chief Joseph Murray declined to comment about the Feb. 4 F-150 Lightning fire or any training his department has done for EVs.

Experts say such training for first responders is a start, but it needs to be constantly updated and rolled out. There are also concerns about the manpower and ability of fire departments to handle EV fires, according to several officials. Not to mention the dire circumstances they may be dealing with involving vehicle occupants, which are their first priority.

“When you have an EV fire, you don’t have the time to stop and look through an emergency response guide or to call, you know, GM, or methodically figure out is it a 2012 Tesla or 2022,” Lerner said. “You’ve got human beings in there that can die. So, you may not have one second to waste in order to get these human beings out.”

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.

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New Jersey residents looking to buy or lease an electric vehicle won’t be able to get a government rebate — at least temporarily — because the state program is so popular that it’s already running out of money, officials said.

The Charge Up New Jersey program has disbursed an estimated $35 million for the fiscal year ending this July, according to the state’s Board of Public Utilities. The board said Monday it was putting the program on pause because all the earmarked funding will soon be disbursed, based on current rate of application approvals and eligible vehicle orders.

Now in its third year, the program gives state residents up to $4,000 right when they buy or lease a new electric vehicle. On average, EVs now cost more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, a price that’s beyond the reach of many U.S. households. Federal tax credits and other incentives are designed to bring prices down and attract more buyers.

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New Jersey’s utility board estimates the program will support the purchase or lease of more than 10,000 vehicles this fiscal year, and it should be back up and running again once the new fiscal year starts July 1. A spokesperson for the Board of Public Utilities, Peter Peretzman, said Tuesday he wasn’t sure if there are plans to increase the program’s funding for next fiscal year.

The utility board estimates that the program, since its launch in May 2020, will have provided more than $90 million in incentives for leasing or buying nearly 25,000 EVs.

At the end of the 2022 there were more than 91,000 electric vehicles on the state’s roadways, the board said, and EVs made up 8% of all new car sales in New Jersey last year.

New Jersey is among the states that have found success with electric vehicle incentive programs. A rebate program in Oregon will also have to pause next month because too many people are applying and the program is running out of money.

The Biden administration has proposed stiff automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales.

The proposed regulation, announced last week by the Environmental Protection Agency, would set tailpipe emissions limits for the 2027 through 2032 model years that are the strictest ever imposed. The proposed tailpipe pollution limits don’t require a specific number of electric vehicles to be sold every year but instead mandate limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on how automakers comply, the EPA projects that at least 60% of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. would be electric by 2030 and up to 67% by 2032.

Still, a new poll released last week shows that many Americans aren’t yet sold on going electric for their next cars, with high prices and too few charging stations the main deterrents.

Environmental groups say stricter tailpipe pollution standards are needed to clean the air we breathe and prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, including even more extreme weather events.

New Jersey has suspended its rebates for buying or leasing electric vehicles because all the funding earmarked for the popular program in the current fiscal year has already been or will soon be disbursed, according to state officials.

The Charge Up New Jersey Program, now in its third year, provides up to $4,000 at the time a state resident buys or leases a new EV, The state Board of Public Utilities announced Monday that it was pausing the program, citing its current rate of application approvals and eligible vehicle orders,

Point-of-sale incentives at showrooms and dealerships for the current fiscal year started last July, and the estimated $35 million money disbursed through the program this year will support the purchase or lease of more than 10,000 vehicles, BPU officials said. In total, the BPU anticipates the program will have provided more than $90 million in incentives for the lease or purchase of nearly 25,000 EV’s since it was launched in May 2020.

State officials say that at the end of the 2022, there were more than 91,000 electric vehicles on New Jersey roadways, and electric vehicles made up 8 percent of all new car sales for the year.

President Joe Biden has pushed an ambitious goal that half of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. run on electricity by 2030, and New Jersey is among states that have had success with electric vehicle incentive programs. In Oregon, officials announced last month that they would temporarily suspend rebates as of next month because too many people are applying and the program is running out of money.

Electric vehicles now cost an average of more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, a price that’s beyond the reach of many U.S. households. Federal tax credits and other incentives are designed to bring prices down and attract more buyers.

Biden administration officials say that, over time, more EVs and parts will be manufactured in the U.S., creating a domestic supply chain and more jobs. The tax credits and other measures also will end U.S. dependence on China for parts and minerals, officials contend.

But under the Treasury Department rules and other provisions of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, most of the more than 60 electric or plug-in hybrids on sale in the U.S. won’t get any tax credits.

That could slow acceptance of electric vehicles and could delay reaching President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal that half of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. run on electricity by 2030.

The new rules, which govern how much battery minerals and parts can come from countries that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S., bumped nine vehicles off the tax credit eligibility list that went into effect Jan. 1.

The 10 vehicles eligible for the full $7,500 credit are:

• Tesla’s Model 3 Performance model, the Tesla Model Y, Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup, the Chrysler Pacifica and the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrids.

• Also, General Motors will have five models eligible this year including its top-selling Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV, as well as the Cadillac Lyriq, the Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup and the upcoming Chevy Equinox small SUV.

The seven models that could get a $3,750 credit are:

• The Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee plug-ins, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E SUV, Escape plug-in and E-Transit electric van, the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring plug-in and the standard range rear-wheel-drive version of Tesla’s Model 3.

Consumers can check to see if the EV they’re considering is eligible for a credit at www.fueleconomy.gov.

To be eligible, electric vehicles or plug-ins have to be manufactured in North America. SUVs, vans and trucks can’t have a sticker price greater than $80,000, while cars can’t sticker for more than $55,000. There also are income limits for buyers.

The Treasury Department says the new list shows that families who want to buy an electric or plug-in vehicle “will continue to have a number of options to receive a full or partial tax credit in the near term” under rules designed to build electric vehicle production and a supply chain in the U.S.

Many of the vehicles that aren’t eligible for the credit are made outside of North American, but their manufacturers are building assembly and battery plants in the U.S.

Some auto industry analysts say that while $7,500 would be enough to entice people away from internal combustion vehicles, a $3,750 tax credit might not be enough to offset the average U.S. new EV price.

Kelley Blue Book says the average U.S. new EV costs about $58,600, nearly $10,000 more than the average new vehicle price. To be sure, average EV prices are falling as more people buy less-expensive models. The average EV price was $63,500 a year ago.

Jeff Schuster, executive vice president of LMC Automotive and Global Data, said half of the full tax credit isn’t enough. “You’re shrinking the market essentially by the vehicles not being affordable,” he said, adding that the average combustion engine vehicle isn’t affordable either.

The big issue in the rules that are effective Tuesday are limits on the percentage of battery parts and minerals that come from countries that don’t have free trade or mineral agreements with the United States.

This year, at least 40% of the value of battery minerals must be mined, processed or recycled in the U.S. or countries with which it has trade deals. That rises 10% every year until it hits 80% after 2026.

Also, at least 50% of the value of battery parts must be manufactured or assembled in North America this year. That requirement rises to 60% next year and in 2025 and jumps 10% each year until it hits 100% after 2028.

In addition to the price limits, there also are income limits aimed to stop wealthier people from getting credits. Buyers cannot have an adjusted gross annual income above $150,000 if single, $300,000 if filing jointly and $225,000 if head of a household.

In addition, starting in 2025, battery minerals cannot come from a “foreign entity of concern,” mainly China and Russia. Battery parts cannot be sourced in those countries starting in 2024; minerals can’t come from those countries in 2025.

The Biden administration said rules governing that requirement are in the works.

Even though the rules are effective Tuesday, the Biden administration is taking public comments, and they can be modified later, including the addition of countries that negotiate trade agreements with the U.S.

Last week the administration proposed strict new automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032. That’s a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales.

Automakers have been taking AM signals out of electric vehicles because they can cause engineering problems.

However, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer wants to put a stop to the practice. He said eliminating AM radio is a threat to public safety.

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“If Elon Musk has enough money to buy Twitter and send rockets to space, he can afford to include AM radio in his Teslas,” he said on Tuesday.

Gottheimer said that AM radio is one of the critical ways federal, state and local governments communicate with the public during natural disasters and other emergencies. It’s what the National Public Warning System is broadcast through.

“The importance of AM radio during large-scale emergencies cannot be underestimated, and it has, without a doubt, and without interruption, saved lives and kept our communities informed,” he said. “When the cell phone runs out, the internet gets cut off, or the television doesn’t work because of no electricity or power to your house, you can still turn on your AM radio.”

New Jersey Broadcasters Association Executive Director Jordan Walton said that AM radio’s importance was on full display during and after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the state.

“There are plenty of business and economic reasons to preserve AM radio, but public safety — using the publicly-owned airwaves our stations have been lucky enough to borrow for 100 years — is the best reason,” said Walton.

Gottheimer said in a press release that more than 47 million Americans — a fifth of the radio-listening public — listen to AM radio. He also said that time spent listening to AM radio has risen over the past five years.

In a letter he wrote to Sebastian Mackensen, the CEO of BMW North America, the congressman said that automakers are getting rid of AM radio because “electromagnetic noise can disrupt the reception of AM signals.”

Automakers say the government’s emergency management system needs to adapt to new technologies.

The service also is buying another 9,250 internal combustion vans from Fiat Chrysler in North America, now part of Amsterdam-based Stellantis. The Fiat Chrysler and Ford vehicles together will cost just over $1 billion.

The gas-powered vehicles fill an urgent need, the Postal Service said in a statement Tuesday.

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford will start delivering the left-hand-drive E-Transit vans in December of this year, while Fiat Chrysler will start shipping the left-hand-drive gas-powered vehicles in November.

Contracts totaling $260 million for the charging stations went to Blink Charging Co., Siemens Industry Inc., and Rexel USA Energy Solutions, the Postal Service said.

Charging stations will be installed at several Postal Service facilities including sorting and delivery centers, starting in the third quarter of this year.

In December the Postal Service said it would sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks — and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026.

The post office said it is spending nearly $10 billion to electrify its aging fleet, including installing a modern charging infrastructure at hundreds of postal facilities nationwide and purchasing at least 66,000 electric delivery trucks in the next five years. The spending includes $3 billion in funding approved under a landmark climate and health policy adopted by Congress last year.

___

This story has been updated to correct the delivery dates for the vehicles. The E-Transit vans will start being delivered in December, not November, and the gas-powered vehicles will start being delivered in November, not December. It also fixes the spelling of one of the charging-station companies. Its Rexel, not Rexall, USA Energy Solutions.

Starting Jan. 1, many Americans were now eligible to qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle. The credit, part of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to increase EV sales and reduce greenhouse emissions in the long term.

The new law also provides a smaller credit for people who lease or buy a used EV.

But for at least the first two months of 2023, a complicated list of requirements could make qualifying for the credit difficult to understand.

The new tax credit, which lasts until 2032, is intended to make zero-emission vehicles affordable to more people. Here is a closer look at it.

What’s New for 2023?

The credit of up to $7,500 will be offered to people who buy certain new electric vehicles as well as some plug-in gas-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. For people who buy a used vehicle that runs on battery power, a $4,000 credit will be available.

But the question of which vehicles and buyers will qualify for the credits is complicated and will remain uncertain until Treasury issues the proposed rules in March.

What’s known so far is that to qualify for the credit, new EVs must be made in North America. In addition, caps on vehicle prices and buyer incomes are intended to disqualify wealthier buyers.

Starting in March, complex provisions will also govern battery components. Forty percent of battery minerals will have to come from North America or a country with a U.S. free trade agreement or be recycled in North America. (That threshold will eventually go to 80%.)

And 50% of the battery parts will have to be made or assembled in North America, eventually rising to 100%.

Starting in 2025, battery minerals cannot come from a “foreign entity of concern,” mainly China and Russia. Battery parts cannot be sourced in those countries starting in 2024 — a troublesome obstacle for the auto industry because numerous EV metals and parts now come from China.

here also are battery-size requirements.

Which Vehicles Are Eligible?

Because of the many remaining uncertainties, that’s not entirely clear. However, the Treasury Department released an initial list of vehicles that meet the requirements to claim the new clean vehicle tax credit beginning Jan. 1, including models from Chrysler, Ford, Jeep, Lincoln, Nissan and Rivian. More vehicles will be added to the list in the weeks and months to come.

The Energy Department also maintains a list of qualifying EVs.

General Motors and Tesla have the most EVs assembled in North America. Each also makes batteries in the U.S. But because of the requirements for where batteries, minerals and parts must be manufactured, it’s likely that buyers of those vehicles would initially receive only half the tax credit, $3,750. GM says its eligible EVs should qualify for the $3,750 credit by March, with the full credit available in 2025.

Until Treasury issues its rules, though, the requirements governing where minerals and parts must be sourced will be waived. This will allow eligible buyers to receive the full $7,500 tax incentive for qualifying models early in 2023.

Audi

BMW

Ford (includes Lincoln)

General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC)

*Lyriq base price is over the $55k MSRP limit, so unlikely to qualify

Nissan

Rivian

Stellantis (includes Chrysler, Jeep)

Tesla

*Model Y only qualifies for $80k MSRP limit with third row, 7-seat option

Volkswagen

Volvo

Some vehicle brands might be missing because they have yet to submit a list of possible models to the IRS.

What About Price?

To qualify, new electric sedans cannot have a sticker price above $55,000. Pickup trucks, SUVs and vans can’t be over $80,000. This will disqualify two higher-priced Tesla models. Though Tesla’s top sellers, the models 3 and Y, will be eligible, with options, those vehicles might exceed the price limits.

Kelley Blue Book says the average EV now costs over $65,000, though lower-priced models are coming.

Will I Qualify for the Credits?

It depends on your income. For new EVs, buyers cannot have an adjusted gross income above $150,000 if single, $300,000 if filing jointly and $225,000 if head of a household.

For used EVs, buyers cannot earn more than $75,000 if single, $150,000 if filing jointly and $112,500 if head of household.

How Will the Credit Be Paid?

At first, it will be applied to your 2023 tax return, which you file in 2024. Starting in 2024, consumers can transfer the credit to a dealership to lower the vehicle price at purchase.

Will the Credits Boost EV Sales?

Yes, but it probably will take a few years, says Mike Fiske, associate director for S&P Global Mobility. The credit may cause a bump in sales early next year because of Treasury’s delay in issuing the stricter requirements. But most automakers are now selling all the EVs they build and cannot make more because of shortages of parts, including computer chips.

And automakers may have trouble certifying the sources of battery minerals and parts, a requirement for buyers to receive the full credit. Automakers have been scrambling to move more EV supply chains to the U.S.

How Does the Used-Ev Credit Work?

Consumers can receive tax credits of up to $4,000 — or 30% of the vehicle price, whichever is less — for buying EVs that are at least two years old. But the used EV must cost less than $25,000 — a tall order given the starting prices for most EVs on the market. A search on Autotrader.com shows that the Chevy Bolt, the Nissan Leaf and other relatively economical used EVs are listed at $26,000 or more for models dating back to 2019.

On the other hand, used EVs need not be made in North America or comply with the battery-sourcing requirements. That means that, for instance, a 2022 Kia EV6 that’s ineligible for the new-vehicle credit because it’s made in South Korea can qualify for a used-car credit if its price falls below $25,000.

“The real effects where these tax credits will have a big impact will be in the 2026-to-2032 period — a few years into the future — as automakers gear up and volumes increase,” said Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst for Consumer Reports magazine.

Why Is the Government Offering the Credits?

The credits are part of roughly $370 billion in spending on clean energy — America’s largest investment to fight climate change — that was signed into law in August by President Joe Biden. EVs now make up about 5% of U.S. new-vehicle sales; Biden has set a goal of 50% by 2030.

Sales of EVs have been climbing, particularly as California and other states have moved to phase out gas-powered cars. The rise of lower-cost competitors to Tesla, such as the Chevy Equinox, with an expected base price of around $30,000, are expected to broaden the EVs’ reach to middle-class households. S&P Global Mobility expects EVs’ share of auto sales to reach 8% next year, 15% by 2025 and 37% by 2030.

Could Requirements Be Eased to Make More EVs Eligible?

It appears that may happen. Some U.S. allies are upset over North American manufacturing requirements that disqualify EVs made in Europe or South Korea.

The requirements knock Hyundai and Kia out of the credits, at least in the short term. They plan to build new EV and battery plants in Georgia, but those won’t open until 2025. European Union countries fear that the tax credits could make their automakers move factories to the U.S.

There is a loophole, however. The law appears to exempt commercial vehicles from the North America assembly and domestic battery mineral and parts requirements. That means that rental car and leasing companies with huge fleets as well as EVs used fuller-time for ride-share such as Uber and Lyft could be eligible for up to $7,500 in tax credits even for foreign-made EVs. A fact sheet released by Treasury on Thursday affirms it would allow exemptions for commercial vehicles, which the department says it must do based on the wording of the law.

That move drew the anger of Manchin, a key vote in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, who on Thursday accused the Biden administration of bending to the desires of foreign countries. He said the exemptions undermine the law’s intent to “bring our energy and manufacturing supply chains onshore to protect our national security, reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries and create jobs right here in the United States.”

Manchin said he would introduce legislation in the coming weeks that “prevents this dangerous interpretation from Treasury from moving forward.”

Are There Credits for Charging Stations?

If you install an EV charger at home, credits may be available. The new law revives a federal tax credit that had expired in 2021; it provides 30% of the cost of hardware and installation, up to $1,000. It adds a requirement that the charger must be in a low-income or non-urban area. Businesses that install new EV chargers in those areas can receive tax credits of as much as 30% — up to $100,000 per charger.

Residential EV chargers can range in cost from $200 to $1,000; installation can add several more hundred dollars.

So Should I Buy Now or Wait?

That’s entirely a personal decision.

If you’ve grown tired of volatile gasoline prices and are considering an EV, you might want to go ahead. Buying a qualifying EV in January or February could net you the full $7,500 tax break before more stringent requirements take effect in March. Additional state credits also may be available.

But if you’re still on the fence, there’s no urgency. Consumers who rush to buy now, when relatively few qualifying EVs are available, may face dealer price markups. Within a few years, technology will improve, and more EVs will qualify for full credits.

Where Can I Find More Information?

The Treasury Department on Thursday released several frequently asked questions documents for individual and commercial customers on the clean vehicle tax credits meant to help them understand how to access the various tax incentives.

The department also released a white paper explaining the anticipated direction that it is taking ahead of the proposed rule rollout.

The plan will make at least 7,500 chargers from Tesla’s Supercharger and Destination Charger network available to non-Tesla EVs by the end of 2024, the White House said.

The plan to open the nation’s largest and most reliable charging network to all drivers is a potential game-changer in promoting EV use, a key component of President Joe Biden’s goal to fight climate change.

“As President Biden said, the great American road trip will be electrified,’ ‘ said Mitch Landrieu, a White House aide who oversees implementation of the 2021 infrastructure law signed by Biden.

Soon, charging an EV “will be as easy as filling up at a gas station,” Landrieu said.

The plan to open up Tesla’s charging network was among a series of developments announced Wednesday by the White House, such as new standards to make EV charging networks convenient and reliable for all Americans, including those driving long distances. The new standards will ensure that everyone can use a charging network, no matter what car they drive or what state they charge in, Landrieu and other officials said.

Tesla, General Motors, EVgo, Pilot, Hertz and other companies also have agreed to expand their networks by thousands of public charging ports in the next two years, using private funds and federal spending from the infrastructure law, “putting the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach,” the White House said.

“It’s clear this administration is making incredible progress in ensuring EVs’ future,” Landrieu told reporters Tuesday.

Under the administration’s plan, Tesla will set up charging sites at hotels, restaurants and other public spaces in urban and rural locations, the White House said. All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website, officials said. Tesla plans to triple its nationwide network of Superchargers over the next few years, the White House said.

The developments come after Landrieu and another top White House aide, John Podesta, met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Washington last month. Biden did not attend the meeting, which centered on the EV industry and the broader goal of electrification of the U.S. economy, the White House said.

A week later, the Treasury Department said it is making more electric vehicles — including SUVs made by Tesla, Ford and General Motors — eligible for tax credits of up to $7,500 under new vehicle classification definitions. The revised standards follow lobbying by Tesla and other automakers to change vehicle definitions to allow higher-priced EVs to qualify for a maximum tax credit.

Tesla raised prices on its Model Y SUV within hours of the Treasury announcement.

Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insight, said the agreement to open up Tesla chargers to non-Tesla EVs “is potentially a very big deal.”

The plan “should be a big help to non-Tesla EV drivers if they can use the Tesla network and if the network remains as reliable as it is today,” he said.

While the White House said the Tesla network should be available through use of a company app or website, an adaptor — or even a new charger design — will likely be required for non-Tesla EVs, Abuelsamid said.

Even so, a question remains, he added: “Once they open it up, will (the Tesla network) still be reliable?”

The revised standards for EV tax credits follow lobbying by automakers that had pressed the Biden administration to change vehicle definitions to allow higher-priced vehicles to qualify. Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with top aides to President Joe Biden last week to discuss the EV industry and the broader goals of electrification.

Under the sweeping climate law approved last summer, pickup trucks, SUVs and vans with a sticker price up to $80,000 qualify for EV tax credits, while new electric cars, sedans and wagons can only be priced up to $55,000. The rule had disqualified some higher-priced EVs, prompting complaints from Tesla and other automakers.

Ford and market leader Tesla both said in recent weeks that they are cutting prices on some EVs, in part to qualify for the new federal tax credit and spur buyer interest.

The EV tax credits are among a host of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress approved in August with only Democratic votes. The law is designed to spur EV sales as part of a broader effort to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

But a complex web of requirements, including where vehicles and batteries must be manufactured to qualify, has cast doubt on whether buyers can receive the full $7,500 credit.

The Treasury Department said Friday that it hopes to make it easier for consumers to know which vehicles qualify for the credit. Under the revised rule, vehicle classifications will be determined by a consumer-facing fuel economy labeling standard, rather than a more complicated formula set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Treasury said.

The change “will allow crossover vehicles that share similar features to be treated consistently,” Treasury said, and also will align vehicle classifications under the clean vehicle credit with the classification displayed on the vehicle label and on the consumer-facing website, FuelEconomy.gov.

The adjustment is retroactive to Jan. 1; motorists who bought vehicles under the new definition can get the credit, Treasury said.

The decision raises the retail price cap for tax credits to $80,000 for GM’s Cadillac Lyriq, Tesla’s five-seat Model Y, Volkswagen’s ID.4 and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and Escape plug-in hybrid.

GM had publicly asked Treasury to reconsider the classification of the Lyriq — which starts at about $63,000 — to allow it to qualify for federal tax credits.

Musk and Biden, who have had a rocky relationship, did not meet in Washington last week. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Jan. 27 sit-down between Musk and White House aides Mitch Landrieu and John Podesta “says a lot” about how Biden sees the importance of the climate law and the broader goal of electrification.

Landrieu oversees federal spending on infrastructure, which includes financial help for the EV industry, while Podesta is Biden’s point man on implementing the climate law.

“I think it’s important that his team, senior members of his team, had a meeting with Elon Musk,” Jean-Pierre said last week.

John Bozzella, president and CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a key industry group, hailed the revised Treasury guidelines.

“A very good decision that clears up some EV tax credit confusion and instantly helps customers shopping today and tomorrow for an electric crossover or SUV,” Bozzella said Friday.

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity, said he welcomed the administration’s goal to make more crossover EVs eligible for the maximum tax credit.

But he said environmental groups are “counting” on the Biden administration to reject automaker pleas to allow crossover SUVs to count as light-duty trucks in upcoming fuel-economy regulations for gas-powered vehicles. Such a classification “would permit the companies to increase air pollution by making more gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs.”

The official, Jennifer Homendy, raised the issue in a speech in Washington to the Transportation Research Board. She noted, by way of example, that an electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic.

“I’m concerned about the increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users from heavier curb weights and increasing size, power, and performance of vehicles on our roads, including electric vehicles,” Homendy said in remarks prepared for the group.

The extra weight that EVs typically carry stems from the outsize mass of their batteries. To achieve 300 or more miles (480 or more kilometers) of range per charge from an EV, batteries have to weigh thousands of pounds.

Some battery chemistries being developed have the potential to pack more energy into less mass. But for now, there’s a mismatch in weight between EVs and smaller internal combustion vehicles. EVs also deliver instant power to their wheels, making them accelerate faster in most cases than most gas-powered cars, trucks and SUVs.

Homendy said she was encouraged by the Biden administration’s plans to phase out carbon emissions from vehicles to deal with the climate crisis. But she said she still worries about safety risks resulting from a proliferation of EVs on roads ands highways.

“We have to be careful that we aren’t also creating unintended consequences: More death on our roads,” she said. “Safety, especially when it comes to new transportation policies and new technologies, cannot be overlooked.”

Homendy noted that Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV pickup is 2,000 to 3,000 pounds (900 to 1,350 kilograms) heavier than the same model’s combustion version. The Mustang Mach E electric SUV and the Volvo XC40 EV, she said, are roughly 33% heavier than their gasoline counterparts.

“That has a significant impact on safety for all road users,” Homendy added.

The NTSB investigates transportation crashes but has no authority to make regulations. For vehicles, such authority rests largely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Even apart from EVs, the nation’s roads are crowded with heavy vehicles, thanks to a decadelong boom in sales of larger cars, trucks and SUVs that’s led to extreme mismatches in collisions with smaller vehicles. But electric vehicles are typically much heavier than even the largest trucks and SUVs that are powered by gasoline or diesel.

Sales of new electric vehicles in the U.S. rose nearly 65% last year to 807,000 — about 5.8% of all new vehicle sales. The Biden administration has set a goal of having EVs reach 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030 and is offering tax credits of up to $7,500 to get there. The consulting firm LMC Automotive has made a more modest prediction: It expects EVs to make up one-third of the new-vehicle market by 2030.

The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday that it intends to purchase at least 66,000 electric delivery vehicles as part of a push to transform its delivery fleet.

The electric vehicles would amount to more than half the 106,000 vehicles it plans to acquire for delivery between now and 2028. The new vehicles will start to replace its aging fleet of 220,000 vehicles, the Postal Service said in a press release.

The Postal Service has faced public pressure from environmental campaigns to electrify its fleet.

In April, environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the USPS for its failure to conduct an adequate environmental analysis before deciding to replace its vehicle fleet with more “fuel-guzzling combustion mail trucks,” according to a press release from the Sierra Club.

“Instead of receiving pollution with their daily mail packages, communities across the U.S. will get the relief of cleaner air,” Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Sierra Club was one of the groups pressuring the USPS to go electric.

The USPS said Tuesday its investment is expected to reach $9.6 billion, about a third of which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act. The funding will help the Postal Service build what has the potential to be one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the country, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.

“We have a statutory requirement to deliver mail and packages to 163 million addresses six days per week and to cover our costs in doing so — that is our mission,” DeJoy said. “As I have said in the past, if we can achieve those objectives in a more environmentally responsible way, we will do so.”

Biden last year directed the U.S. government to purchase only American-made, zero-emission passenger cars by 2027 and electric versions of other vehicles by 2035.

“We’re going to harness the purchasing power of the federal government to buy clean, zero-emission vehicles,” the president said soon after his January 2021 inauguration. He has since used photo ops — taking a spin in Ford Motor Co.’s electric F-150 pickup truck, or driving GM’s Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV at the Detroit auto show — to promote their potential. Cabinet officials have hawked a first set of Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs in use at the departments of Energy and Transportation.

The White House frequently describes the 2027 timeline as on track. But the General Services Administration, the agency that purchases two-thirds of the 656,000-vehicle federal fleet, says there are no guarantees.

Then there is the U.S. Postal Service, which owns the remaining one-third of the federal fleet. After initially balking and facing lawsuits, the agency now says that half of its initial purchase of 50,000 next-generation vehicles will be powered by electricity. The first set of postal vehicles will hit delivery routes late next year.

Climate advocates say that agency can do even better.

“USPS should now go all-electric or virtually all electric with its new vehicles,” said Luke Tonachel, senior director of clean vehicles and buildings at the Natural Resources Defense Council, citing an additional $3 billion in federal spending targeted for the postal fleet under the landmark climate law Biden signed last month.

About 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, making it the single largest source of planet-warming emissions in the country.

Electrification of the federal fleet is a “cornerstone” of Biden’s efforts to decarbonize the federal government, said Andrew Mayock, chief federal sustainability officer for the White House.

“The future is electric, and the federal government has built a strong foundation … that’s going to deliver on this journey we’re on over the next decade,″ he said in an interview.

Excluding the Postal Service, about 13% of new light-duty vehicles purchased across the government this year, or about 3,550, were “zero emissions,” according to administration figures provided to The Associated Press. The government defines zero emissions as either electric or plug-in hybrid, which technically has a gas-burning engine. That compares with just under 2% in the 2021 budget year and less than 1% in 2020.

Nationwide, about 6% of new car sales are electric.

When it comes to vehicles actually on the road, the federal numbers are even smaller. Many of the purchases in recent months won’t be delivered for as long as a year due to supply chain problems.

Currently just 1,799 of the 656,000-vehicle federal fleet are zero-emissions vehicles.

At a rate of 35,000 to 50,000 GSA car purchases a year, it will take years, if not decades, to convert the entire fleet.

“It hasn’t been exactly a fast start,” said Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Insight. “It’s going to be challenging for them probably for at least the next year or two to really accelerate that pace.”

Christina S. Kingsland, who directs the business management division for the federal fleet at GSA, said “the federal fleet is a working fleet.”

The agency pointed to a limited EV supply from automakers with big upfront costs. In addition, it said the needs of agencies are often highly specialized, from Interior Department pickup trucks on large rural tribal reservations to hulking Department of Homeland Security SUVs along the U.S. border.

Agencies also need easy access to public EV charging stations. The White House has acknowledged agencies are “way behind” on their own charging infrastructure, with roughly 600 charging stations and 2,000 total chargers nationwide.

While Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law provides $7.5 billion to states to build out an EV charging network of up to 500,000 chargers over several years along interstate highways, no money from that law was earmarked for federal agencies’ specialized needs. Money for charging stations must be allocated in each department’s budget.

Meeting Biden’s goal for the federal fleet is contingent on industry increasing production as predicted beginning in 2025 and 2026, analysts say. By that time, the effects of big federal investments to build public chargers and boost EV manufacturing in the U.S. will likely be felt alongside tougher rules for automakers to curtail tailpipe emissions.

GM, for example, has set a target of 1 million EV annual production capacity worldwide by 2025, while Ford expects to make 2 million EVs globally by 2026. Stellantis also is cranking up production capacity and is getting ready to launch a whole slate of new EVs.

The White House has declined to set a specific goal for EV purchases in 2023, but Mayock said he expects the number to be higher than 13%.

While the Postal Service is an independent agency, it plays an essential role in fleet electrification, not only because it owns 234,000 vehicles in the federal fleet, but also because the familiar blue-and-white mail trucks are by far the most visible federal vehicle, rolling into neighborhoods across America each day.

The agency plans to buy up to 165,000 of next-generation vehicles over a decade. The Postal Service remains “committed to reducing our carbon footprint in many areas of our operations and expanding the use of EVs in our fleet is a priority,” said spokesperson Kim Frum.

White House officials say government EV purchases can only increase exponentially after a near-zero baseline a few years ago under President Donald Trump, who sought to loosen fuel economy requirements for gas-powered vehicles and proposed doing away with a federal tax credit for electric cars.

At a recent EV demonstration at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center outside Washington, officers test-drove EVs outfitted for police use, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Officers were impressed with the EV’s acceleration and “nimbleness,″ Mayock said, calling the test drives “a big change-management moment″ for the government.

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Sharp reported from Portland, Maine. AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of electric vehicles at https://apnews.com/hub/electric-vehicles