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Hybrid Automakers Support Clean Fuel Tax Breaks April 2005Automakers on Wednesday praised President George W. Bush's call for incentives to boost sales of energy-efficient vehicles, saying the tax credits would help drive more of the technology into the marketplace.White House officials said the energy-related proposals would provide $2.5 billion in tax incentives over 10 years. Consumers would receive a credit of up to $4,000, based on the level of the vehicle's fuel efficiency, if they purchase a hybrid or clean-diesel vehicle. "This is exactly the way you should introduce technology to the consumer market," said Chris Preuss, a spokesman for General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker. Ford Motor Co. said the incentives would help motivate consumers to buy hybrids and fuel cell vehicles and help lay the foundation for a transition in the auto industry toward more fuel-efficient vehicles. "With incremental costs of 15 to 25 percent over comparable gasoline models, current hybrid vehicle sales have been limited to a relatively narrow segment of the consumer market -- less than 0.5 percent," said Dan Brouillette, Ford's vice president for Washington affairs. DaimlerChrysler AG spokesman Dennis Fitzgibbons said the company agreed with the broad approach to the tax breaks, saying "any system of consumer tax incentives shouldn't favor one technology over the other." Toyota Motor Corp., the first automaker to commercially mass-produce and sell hybrid cars, has dominated the segment with the Prius, which occupied 64 percent of the U.S. market last year. GM introduced hybrid versions of the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado last year and plans to roll out more than a dozen fuel-efficient models after 2007. DaimlerChrysler offers clean-diesel vehicles in the Mercedes E320 CDI and the Jeep Liberty. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the incentives do not go far enough. He has sought incentives of $5,300 for hybrid vehicles and more for advanced diesel technology. "People aren't going to develop these technologies unless they know that there is a sure market for them, and that's where these tax credits are critical," Levin said. | ||
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