GM, Ford say electric vehicle price increases have nothing to do with Dem spending bill
The price hike was 'completely unrelated' to Democrats' inflation bill, a GM spokesperson tells FOX Business
FIRST ON FOX: General Motors (GM) and Ford, two of the largest U.S. automakers, pushed back on reports Tuesday that recent electric vehicle (EV) price hikes were related the Inflation Reduction Act.
The two companies told FOX Business that recent price increases impacting certain EV models were influenced by inflation and supply chain issues and were announced before Democrats unveiled the legislation. Multiple conservative outlets reported this week that GM and Ford had raised the prices of certain electric models by between $6,000 and $8,500, roughly matching the $7,500 tax credit introduced under the inflation bill.
"The pricing update is completely unrelated to the Inflation Reduction Act and the announcement was made well before that legislation was introduced," GM spokesperson Matt Ybarra told FOX Business. "In mid-June, GMC announced that new GMC HUMMER EV reservations placed on/after June 18th would see an increase of $6,250 to the base MSRP due to the increase in the price of commodity parts, technology and logistics."
GMC Hummer EVs are pictured at General Motors' Factory ZERO assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Fox News)
Both the Daily Wire and Washington Examiner reported GM's $6,250 price hike for the Hummer and Ford's similar price increases, noting that the Inflation Reduction Act extends a $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases. The credit had already been implemented by separate legislation more than a decade ago.
Ybarra said, however, that the Hummer EV wouldn't have qualified for the credits outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act given its high price.
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"I should point out that the pricing of the GMC HUMMER EV is above the MSRP cap set by the Inflation Reduction Act and therefore is not expected to be eligible for consumer purchase credits," Ybarra added.
On Aug. 9, meanwhile, Ford announced it would increase both the price of its electric F-150 Lightning Pro and traditional gas-powered F-150.
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"We’ve recently adjusted MSRP for both EV and ICE F-150 models," Ford spokesperson Martin Günsberg told FOX Business in an email. "We announced F-150 Lightning pricing in May of 2021 — 15 months ago — and since then, inflation and commodity costs have continued to increase, leading to this recent adjustment for the next model year."
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President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, approving the EV tax credit extension and a number of other green energy provisions that are expected to cost taxpayers more than $360 billion. The bill is projected to increase federal tax revenue by about $737 billion.
"With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost," Biden said prior to signing the bill.