Rick Scott demands federal action in electric vehicle market
Sen. Rick Scott is taking aim at what he considers questionable actions regarding the electric vehicle market.
Joined by Senators Mike Lee, Roger Marshall, Dan Sullivan and Pete Ricketts, Scott wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene Dodaro on Friday.
The Senators claim that the “Department of Energy (DOE) is incorrectly, and potentially illegally, setting the petroleum equivalency factor (PEF) for electric vehicles (EVs), which is used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to set the agency’s directive for automakers’ corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards.”
“With the EPA and NHTSA establishing stringent greenhouse gas emissions standards and CAFE standards with the explicit goal of increasing EV adoption, automakers are planning massive investments in EVs, with supply chains that are primarily outside the U.S., including in countries hostile to the U.S. These federal standards and the improper application of the FCF to EVs is resulting in an improper transfer of billions of dollars every year from gasoline vehicle manufacturers and consumers to electric vehicle manufacturers and consumers,” the Senators claim, spotlighting what they frame as a subsidy.
Scott also wrote Gary Gensler, Chair of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), with concerns about Zeekr, a maker of what the company says are “premium electric vehicles” that is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Scott is concerned about the company’s ties to the Chinese government, along with operational issues.
“As you know, the CCP’s ongoing authoritarian control over China’s economy and companies raises significant risks for U.S. investors, which is why this listing is deeply concerning, both to the integrity and strength of U.S. capital markets as well as the protection of American investors,” Scott writes.
“Along with these issues come the concerns regarding supply chain and human rights abuses. Recently, a report from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee revealed that a number of auto companies have alarming ties to forced labor and human rights violations. With Zeekr being both a Chinese auto company and linked to the CCP, I have serious questions about how the SEC can be confident that Zeekr is not utilizing specific supply chains that rely on forced labor.”
Scott goes on to argue that the listing of Chinese-controlled companies “undermines not only our national security, but the integrity of U.S. capital markets as a whole.”
Post Views: 0
