A common criticism of subsidy programs is that sellers may simply raise their prices by part or all of the subsidy amount, capturing taxpayer money as additional profit instead of passing on savings to buyers.
In California, which is expanding its already substantial support for electric commercial vehicles, a bill before the Senate would require vehicle OEMs to publicly reveal the prices they’re charging customers.
SB-1213, “Zero- and near-zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles: incentives: transparency,” which is now making its way through the state legislature, is intended to bring down the price of electric trucks by tying state funding under the Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) to “full pricing transparency” of electric trucks by manufacturers.
Unlike passenger vehicles, truck prices are not always publicly available—companies may set different prices for different customers. Electric truck advocacy organization Idle Giants reports that electric truck prices remain high in the US and have increased, despite falling prices in Europe.
It’s been widely reported that the Tesla Semi, which has now gone into volume production, is priced significantly lower than Class 8 tractors from legacy OEMs, but reliable information about pricing is not easy to find.
Volvo Group, Daimler Truck and Traton continue to work on multiple fronts to stall or delay the shift to clean technologies. Could keeping the prices of their electric trucks uncompetitive be part of their slow-walking strategy?
The California legislation can’t force OEMs to lower their prices, but it aims to ensure that accurate pricing information is available to all interested parties—dealers, buyers and taxpayers (and don’t forget the press).
“SB 1213 passed three Senate committees without a single ‘no’ vote because it puts California first,” said Guillermo Ortiz, Senior Clean Vehicles Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Governor Newsom [has just committed] $1 billion to accelerate clean truck adoption, and this bill makes sure that money actually delivers. Pricing transparency is the tool that holds manufacturers to their promise of delivering affordable clean trucks.”
“By requiring greater disclosure of truck pricing information for vehicles receiving public incentives, SB 1213 would give state agencies the tools they need to hold manufacturers accountable for selling electric trucks in California at the prices they offer abroad, and ensure that our state incentive dollars go as far as possible to provide air pollution relief,” said Jakob Evans, Senior Policy Strategist at Sierra Club California. “SB 1213 is a commonsense reform that will help ensure every dollar committed to clean trucks delivers maximum public benefit.”
Source: Idle Giants
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