Last weeks Republican Tax Proposal would eliminate the $7,500 income tax credit for electric vehicles. The impact would be devastating to the emergent electric car industry and adversely impact consumers and the environment. A New York City employee said, “it’s national suicide.”

In 1990, The California Air Resources Board (CARB), created a “zero-emissions vehicle mandate” requiring auto manufacturers that sold cars in California to offer an electric car model. The General Motors (GM) EV-1 electric cars, were loved by consumers, but after the mandate expired, GM repossessed the cars and destroyed them.

In 2006 an independent documentary explored the life and death of the EV-1 electric car. Actors Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks and Alexandra Paul are in the documentary film praising the car. As GM trucks were taking EV-1 cars away to be crushed, police stood guard and Ms. Paul was arrested, while protesting the death of her electric car.

I picked up an electric car in 2016 mainly due to the tax credits. Now it seems odd to visit a gas station. The car is clean and quiet.

In a replay of the California mandate in 1990, this month China announced an initiative: by 2025, 20% of all cars sold are to be electric. Warren Buffett backed, BYD (electric vehicle company based in China) has delivered over 50,000 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles – including busses to UCLA. China already leads the world in the number of electric cars produced with an estimate of nearly 300 thousand new electric cars on the road this year.

Where is our clean energy policy and who is leading our industry into the future? GM, Ford and Renault-Nissan are setting up electric car research ventures in China. The Warren Buffett backed BYD share price is up 50% since September 2017.

Are we repeating history and pushing our cart backwards? Or can industry lead the way without being impacted by government obstacles?

Solar Forward installs solar systems and electric car chargers every week. As a new industry we rely on incentives to enable the market to establish a foot hold. We ask for your support in contacting your legislators and letting them know it is in the economic interest of this country and the interest of our grandchildren’s lungs, to support green technologies and enable the electric car industry and ancillary businesses to thrive.

Mark Smith
CEO Solar Forward
11/12/17

http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-02/tax-credit-for-electric-cars-said-to-be-axed-in-gop-tax-proposal
https://jalopnik.com/what-could-happen-to-electric-car-sales-if-the-7-500-t-1820109797


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/business/china-hastens-the-world-toward-an-electric-car-future.html[/facebook]

Tesla Model S

Consumer Reports just rated the Tesla Model S with the highest score ever, 99 out of 100. Electrical vehicles are overtaking conventional vehicles in terms of power, handling, aesthetics, and ergonomics.

But don’t rush to the auto dealership just yet. While our grid may be cleaner than most, it’s still comprised of over 40% coal and natural gas, i.e. nonrenewable fossil fuels.

By combining a solar system with an electric vehicle, you can drive completely on clean, free energy from the sun. If you already have a solar system, you can add an additional 2 – 3 kW of solar (depending on your driving habits) to cover the energy needed to power your car!

Ford Focus & SunPower

Keep a lookout at your local Ford dealership for the Ford/SunPower partnership, allowing you to acquire a 2.5 kilowatt rooftop system in conjunction with an electric Ford Focus.

Tailpipe emissions account for one-fifth of worldwide carbon emissions.    Ideally, we would combat this by pouring funding into public transit, and single passenger car trips would become a rarity.

Instead, we’re clinging to life as usual.  How do we have our automobile cake, and eat it too?

Plug-in hybrids.

Consumer habits have shown that most Americans fear the fully electric vehicle.  Unfortunately, the climate can’t wait for us to adjust to the idea of going to a charging station rather than a gas station.

Luckily for future generations, drivers are willing to compromise.  Sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles are up 381%in just the first half of this year.  We won’t completely give up petroleum, but we are dieting.

This new breed of hybrid can travel 20 miles before switching to gasoline.  And, the cost to charge at night is equal to a mere 75 cents per gallon of gasoline.

Plug-in hybrids are a great alternative to traditional EVs.  They ease consumers into the ways of electric vehicles, while allowing drivers their gas tank security blanket.

Call Solar Forward to learn about powering your plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle with the sun.