Under the Trump administration, the U.S.
clean energy industry is facing adversity again

“There is a rollback in federal subsidies for EVs and regulations [for gasoline-powered vehicles], and I think the situation is not going in a good direction.”

That’s what Mac Bruce, lead project manager at CALSTART, a non-profit organization that promotes zero-emission vehicles across the United States, who also appeared in the panel discussion above, said.

In New York State, even now that the federal tax credit has been abolished, consumers are still being given discounts of up to $2,000 (about 300,000 yen) when purchasing or leasing an EV as a “drive clean rebate”.

Bruce emphasized that these state governments’ aggressive efforts to transition to EVs are driving EV adoption, and that even if vehicle electrification temporarily slows under the Trump administration, the trend of electrification will not be unstoppable in the long term due to previous investments in EV infrastructure, state subsidies, and lower EV battery prices.

On the other hand, he also expressed concern about the disparity between the federal and state governments, further widening the gap with the EV market in China and Europe.

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