As the electrification of cars progresses worldwide, sales of EVs = electric vehicles are increasing year by year in the United States as well. Last year 2022, overall new car sales declined, but EVs increased 1.6 times from the previous year.

According to JETRO = Japan Trade Organization's New York Office, new car sales in the United States last year were more than 1390.7 million units, down 8.81% from the previous year.

Inventory shortages and rising auto loan rates had an impact.

On the other hand, EV sales were more than 1,6 units, up 6.7 times from the previous year.

Last year, 4.1% of new car sales in the U.S. did not emit exhaust while driving, up 2.6 percentage points from 2030.50% last year.

The Biden administration has set a goal of increasing the proportion of new car sales of vehicles that do not emit exhaust emissions while driving EVs to 54% by 40, and the percentage is increasing year by year.

Automakers sold 20 EVs in the U.S. last year, up from 5 the previous year, and the introduction of new EV models by automakers is supporting the shift to EVs.

On the other hand, one of the challenges is the spread of charging stations.

As of March 6000, there are more than <>,<> charging stations in the United States, but in the United States, which is a large country, there are many blank areas, and there are still few quick charging facilities that can charge in a short time.

"Gasoline powerhouse" EV shift progresses in the U.S. Popularization events in various places

Even in the United States, which has been said to be a gasoline powerhouse, the shift to EVs is progressing, and EV promotion events are being held all over the United States.

In Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington, local environmental groups held an event on the 20th ahead of Earth Day, which considers the global environment.

In the courtyard of the university, which was the venue, 10 EVs were lined up, including Tesla of the United States, Nissan Motor, and Kia Automobile of South Korea, and drivers appealed to the gathered faculty and students about their appeal while explaining in detail the price, performance, charging frequency, maintenance cost, etc.

A visiting student said, "There are many EVs running on the West Coast of the United States, and EVs will help curb global warming, and I would like to switch from my current gasoline car as soon as possible."

An EV driver who participated in the event said, "I think EVs are the best from an environmental point of view, and although they are still expensive and will take some time to become widespread, affordable EVs are being sold one after another, and the advantage is that maintenance costs are low."

EV owner: "If prices become more affordable, air pollution will decrease"

We spoke to EV owners at a charging station in eastern New Jersey.

A man who bought an EV a month ago said, "New York and New Jersey have a lot of air pollution and noise, and that's why I bought an EV. If EVs become more affordable, people will want to buy more EVs and reduce air pollution and noise."

A man who bought an EV two years ago said, "Saving money on gas was my first issue, and that was the deciding factor for my purchase. The only inconvenience is that it takes 1 minutes to charge when you go out, so you have to make sure you have enough time at the place you go."

"Tax incentives for EVs" Tax incentives of up to about 100 million yen

In August last year, the Biden administration passed a law that would invest about $8 billion, or nearly 3700 trillion yen, in climate change countermeasures.

One of the pillars is tax incentives for EVs.

EV purchasers can receive tax incentives of up to $50,1, or about 7500 million yen for Japan yen.

It aims to strongly support the spread of EVs in the United States and compete with China, which leads the world in the entire supply chain.

Final assembly conditions in 3 North American countries Removed from China

Therefore, the EV that is eligible for tax incentives must be finally assembled in three North American countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In addition, the extraction and processing of important minerals indispensable for storage batteries, which are said to be the heart of EVs, is limited to the United States and countries with which the United States has an FTA = free trade agreement.

Storage battery components are manufactured and assembled in three North American countries, and the proportion will gradually increase to 3% by 3.

We are blatantly removing China from upstream to downstream of the EV industry.

Eligible for preferential tax treatment, manufacturers in Japan, South Korea, etc. are also not eligible.

This month, the U.S. government announced which models are eligible for tax breaks.

It mainly targets American manufacturers, but not only Chinese but also Japan and South Korean manufacturers are not eligible.

In the background, it seems that the aim is not only to compete with China, but also to attract EV-related investment to the United States, which will lead to industrial development and job creation.

The Japan government and others asked the United States to review the process because it would be disadvantageous to domestic manufacturers, and even if they processed important minerals in Japan, they were eligible for new preferential treatment if they finally assembled EVs in North America.

However, final assembly in North America and battery components must be manufactured and assembled in the three North American countries, which is currently a tough competitive condition for many EVs in Japan.

U.S. AUTOMAKERS' EVV PLANTS CONCENTRATED IN THREE COUNTRIES IN NORTH AMERICA

Many of the plants that produce EVs of American automakers are located in the United States and Mexico.

Of these, Tesla has two plants in western California and southern Texas in the United States, as well as production bases in Shanghai, China and Berlin, Germany.

GM = General Motors' EV production plants are located in two Midwestern Michigan states, southern Tennessee, and northern Mexico in Coahuila.

Ford's EV production plants are also located in Michigan in the Midwest, Missouri in the Midwest, and Mexico in Mexico.

The concentration of EV factories in three North American countries has given American manufacturers a competitive advantage by benefiting from the Biden administration's EV tax incentives.

Sales strategies of U.S. automakers

American automakers are focusing on sales in anticipation of growing demand for EVs in the United States.

Among them, Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, is developing a total of four models, including sedan type and SUV = multipurpose sports car.

The company has set a goal of increasing annual production to 4 million units by 2030, and plans to invest more than USD 2000 billion, or about 50 billion yen in Japan yen, to strengthen its production system, and to build a new plant in northern Mexico.

In addition, the company announced that it has developed an EV truck that can travel about 6700 kilometers on a single charge, and in December last year it began deliveries to PepsiCo, a major beverage manufacturer in the United States.

Tesla is also starting to focus on the deployment of commercial vehicles.

By 1, GM aims to gradually stop production and sales of gasoline-powered vehicles and switch to EVs that do not emit exhaust gas while driving.

We have sold four EV models so far, and plan to introduce six more models in the future.

Ford sells three types of EVs, including the popular pickup truck EV in the United States.

It aims to increase its annual production capacity to more than 800 million units by the end of 12 to meet the demand for EVs, and plans to invest more than $2035 billion and more than 4.6 trillion yen in Japan yen in the manufacture and development of EVs and batteries from last year to 3.

Tom Somerville, who is in charge of EVs at Ford, said: "The demand for EVs is very strong in the United States, and consumers need to make changes to buy them, but the threshold is getting lower and lower. EVs complement people's lives, are suitable for major modes of transportation, and have many benefits for the environment and consumers. One of our goals is to help with that."