| Hyundai Motor Company Ioniq 5 production line./Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company |
[대한경제=강주현 기자] With the introduction of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Korean-made electric vehicles, which were excluded from the US government’s subsidies, can enjoy subsidy benefits when sold commercially, such as leasing.
On the 29th (local time), the U.S. Treasury Department released additional guidelines related to the IRA’s electric vehicle tax credit regulations, guiding the definition of electric vehicles eligible for tax credit in the form of a’frequently asked questions’ (FAQ).
The Treasury Department has defined a commercial electric vehicle as “a vehicle purchased by a taxpayer for direct use or lease rather than for resale.” The range of commercial electric vehicles also includes electric vehicles purchased by leasing companies for business purposes, which is also what the Korean government has requested from the US government.
The IRA requires tax credits to be given only to taxpayers who purchase electric vehicles that have final assembly in North America and that meet core mineral and battery requirements. However, commercial electric vehicles can receive tax credit regardless of these requirements.
Currently, all electric vehicles sold by Hyundai Motor Group in the US are exported from Korea, so the requirement for ‘final assembly in North America’ acted as the biggest obstacle. will be.
However, the Treasury Department excluded leases that are de facto sales, such as ‘long-term leases’ that cover 80-90% of the life of the vehicle, or cases where there is an option to purchase the vehicle at a discounted price following the lease contract ends. .
The IRA’s tax credit provision for electric vehicles is $3,750 for batteries starting next year with at least 50% of parts manufactured or assembled in North America (with a step-by-year increase to 100% by 2029), and 40% of core minerals used in batteries (80% by 2027). It stipulates that more than 3,750 USD must be mined and processed in the United States or a country that has concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
As the Treasury Department is still preparing detailed regulations, the application of battery and core mineral requirements has been postponed to March next year, but the electric vehicle must still be finally assembled in North America to receive the tax credit.
In response, the Korean government and Hyundai Motors requested the US government to ease the definition of final assembly in North America or to delay the implementation of this regulation for three years so that Hyundai Motors, which is already building an electric vehicle plant in the United States, can benefit from tax credits.
The U.S. Treasury Department also presented the direction of enacting battery requirements (minerals and parts) to be released in March next year in the form of a white paper to reduce uncertainty for companies.
In calculating the North American manufacturing/assembly rate by battery component and the rate extracted/processed by core mineral in the United States and in countries that signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with the U.S., the value of the entire component/mineral, rather than individual parts/minerals, is calculated in the white paper. made me judge
Minerals extracted from countries that do not have FTAs with the United States will be considered as products of FTA countries if they are processed in FTA countries and create more than 50% of added value.
Overall, the Korean automobile industry welcomed the US announcement and started to establish strategies to maximize the benefits. In the case of Hyundai Motor Company, it plans to increase the portion of commercial sales from the existing 3-5% to the 30% level through competitive lease payments.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it would do its best to communicate closely with the industry and reflect our opinions until the U.S. Treasury Department announces provisional guidance for core minerals and battery parts in March next year.
Reporter Kang Ju-hyun kangju07@
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