US electric vehicle makers are not relying on a return of federal EV incentives when Democrats take control of Congress in January, although executives at Rivian, Lucid and Scout Motors said they would welcome any support that emerges.
The cautious stance follows years of shifting policy in Washington. The Trump administration has rolled back climate initiatives and electric vehicle measures introduced under Joe Biden, including a customer incentive of up to $7,500 for buying an EV.
Scott Keogh, chief executive of Scout Motors, said the company had been designed to operate without depending on legislation or government support.
“We’ve honestly constructed Scout from day one to be in an environment where we’re not going to count on, let’s say, legislation or count on things that may or may not be there,” Mr Keogh said.
Rivian chief executive RJ Scaringe said he hoped the Democratic-controlled Congress and Republican President Donald Trump could find common ground, but did not expect the industry to rely on such an outcome.
“We try not to plan for those sort of things. The reality is it’s probably going to have less of an impact than we think,” Mr Scaringe said. “I think we’re going to actually have a lot of challenges getting things done.”
EV incentives and affordability
Lucid chief executive Silvio Napoli adopted a similar position, saying the company would accept any positive development while preparing for a less supportive environment.
“You know, they say, ‘Plan for the worst and … hope for the best.’ That’s all we can say,” Mr Napoli said. “Anything positive, we’ll take it.”
Electric vehicle companies and established manufacturers such as General Motors had previously counted on federal credits to increase sales and help move towards profitability. The loss of that assistance comes as Democrats are expected to prioritise healthcare, data centres, oversight of the Trump administration and affordability.
Rachel McCleery, executive director of the policy advisory group Coalition for Reimagined Mobility at SAFE, said affordability could also extend to the cost of vehicles and EV supply chains.
“I fully expect there will be legislative debates over what to do moving forward, including on EV and EV supply chain incentives,” Ms McCleery said. She added that lowering vehicle costs for US consumers was a priority for Democratic policymakers.
Mr Keogh said that, if lawmakers introduced support, he would prefer it to assist production rather than simply reduce the purchase price for customers. Lower manufacturing costs, he said, could ultimately be passed on to buyers.
“I always prefer it on the production side,” he said. “Anything that can drive down production cost is going to, of course, get passed along to the customer.”
Affordability remains a barrier to wider EV adoption, with electric models typically costing more than cars powered by internal combustion engines. Sales rose sharply before the previous federal incentive of up to $7,500 ended after September 2025, but have since fallen from that level.
The average price of a new electric vehicle was more than $54,800 in September, compared with just over $51,100 for the overall new vehicle market, according to Cox Automotive.
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, the company’s director of industry insight, said incentives could speed up adoption but should not form the basis of the industry’s long-term plans.
“The goal has to be making EVs affordable and compelling enough that they make sense for more consumers with or without an incentive,” she said.
