U.S. says more Tesla, Ford, GM EVs eligible for tax credits

The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday it will make more Tesla (TSLA.O), Ford Motor (F.N), General Motors (GM.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) electric vehicles eligible for up to $7,500 tax credits after it revised its vehicle classification definitions.

The reversal by Treasury is a win for Tesla, GM, Ford and other automakers which had pressed the Biden administration to change the vehicle definitions.

Under the $430 billion climate bill approved in August, SUVs can be priced at up to $80,000 to qualify for EV tax credits, while cars, sedans and wagons can only be priced at up to $55,000.

The Treasury announcement allows vehicles automakers consider crossover SUVs to qualify for credits. The decision raises the retail price cap to $80,000 from $55,000 for GM's Cadillac Lyriq, Tesla's five-seat Model Y, Volkswagen's ID.4, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Escape Plug-in Hybrid. Only one version of the VW 1D.4 had been considered an SUV by the Treasury.