Adopted in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) plans to encourage the production of electric vehicles in the United States. A plan that seems to be bearing fruit since many car manufacturers have already invested heavily in the country, to the detriment of Europe.
Par
Robin Schmidt
Published on
Updated
Encouraged by the Chips Act, the investment of car manufacturers in the production of electric vehicles in the United States, should enable the country to regain a dominant position in the semiconductor industry.
Bosch
Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, or even Honda… The list of automakers that have made investments in the United States in recent months continues to grow. These industrial projects are not the result of chance, but the result of a law passed by the American government in 2022. Called the Chips Act, this plan stems from the American law on the reduction of inflation (Inflation Reduction Act – IRA ), and aims to restore the United States to a dominant position in the semiconductor industrywhereas today production is largely concentrated in Asia.
The Chips Act therefore provides 39 billion dollars in subsidies in order to attract a large number of investments from car manufacturers in the country and, ultimately, to revive the semiconductor industry across the Atlantic. For the time being, nearly 300 billion dollars in investments have already been promised, according to the government of Joe Biden. He thus hopes generate $500 billion in private investment in power chips by 2030.
Ford abandons Europe
In the race for electric vehicles, the brand Ford has chosen to invest massively in the United States, to the detriment of Europe. Indeed, for the past few months, it has been gradually closing its factories and eliminating thousands of jobs on the Old Continent. On the other hand, the American manufacturer has made an investment of 3.5 billion dollars in the construction of an electric battery factory in Michigan, with the help of a Chinese partner.
The Volkswagen group opts for an electric pick-up and SUV factory
The Volkswagen group also announced in early March 2023 its intention to invest two billion dollars in the United States, through its subsidiary Scout Motors. This investment will be used to build a factory for electric pickups and SUVs on the east coast of the country. The German car giant plans to start production for the end of 2026, with the aim of manufacturing up to 200,000 vehicles per year on the site.
General Motors wants to dethrone Tesla in the United States
The manufacturer General Motors announced in early 2022 that it was about to make the largest investment in its history in the United States. It plans to disburse 35 billion dollars by 2025, with the ambition of reaching the production of more than 1 million electric vehicles per year. The American brand therefore makes no secret of its intention to drastically increase its production capacity of electric vehicles in the country, to the point of wanting to dethrone the leader Tesla in its own sector of activity.
Honda and LGES joint venture in Ohio…
Japanese automaker Honda and LG Energy Solution have pledged to invest 3.5 billion dollars in the construction of a new battery factory for electric vehicles joint venture in Ohio. With production scheduled to start in 2025, their new facility will equip Honda’s new electric vehicles with batteries, which will be for sale in North America.
… and the Hyundai Group in Georgia
The South Korean group Hyundai announced in 2022 that it wanted to invest more than 10 billion dollars in the United States. This investment will be used in particular to build the very first factory of the manufacturer entirely intended for the electric in the country. Hyundai estimates that it will be ready for the first half of 2025 and will be able to produce 300,000 units per year.
Stellantis invests in Indiana
At the end of February 2023, car manufacturer Stellantis announced a new investment of 145 million euros in three plants in Indiana, with the aim of supporting its electrification objectives in the North American market. Since 2020, more than 3 billion euros that have been invested by the group in this same stateincluding the creation of a gigafactory in joint venture with Samsung SDI.
BMW invests in batteries and production of electric vehicles
The Bavarian BMW Group announced in October 2022 an investment of 1.7 billion dollars in the United States to produce batteries and electric vehicles in the country. Indeed, among the amount of money invested, one billion dollars will be used to modernize the existing factory, that of Spartanburg, in South Carolina, while the 700 million will be invested for the construction of a battery factory, also in South Carolina.
And Toyota too
The world’s largest automaker Toyota has also repeatedly stated its intention to invest across the Atlantic. The Japanese group thus wishes to make an investment of approximately 3.4 billion dollars by 2030 in the development and production of batteries for vehicles in the United States. In particular, he plans to create a new company and build a new factory, the production of which should start in 2025.
