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US Congress lets $8,000 hydrogen vehicle tax credit expire

When Toyota introduced the 2016 Mirai last month in preparation for a launch late next year, it said that the hydrogen car will have a $57,500 MSRP and that there will be a federal tax credit available worth up to $8,000. The problem, as we noted at the time, is that that federal credit was set to expire at the end of 2014. The technical language of the current rule says that someone who buys a fuel cell vehicle, "may claim a credit for the certified amount for a fuel cell vehicle if it is placed in service by the taxpayer after Dec. 31, 2005, and is purchased on or before Dec. 31, 2014." With the 113th Congress now finished up for the year and legislators headed home for the holidays, we know one thing for certain: the federal tax credit for hydrogen vehicles was not updated and will end as we're all singing Auld Lang Syne next week. All of this isn't to say that Mirai buyers won't be able to take $8,000 off the price of the car 12 months from now. For proof of that, we only need to look at other alternative fuel tax incentives and realize that this Congress simply isn't moving fast enough to deal with things that are expiring right now. One of the last things that the 113th Congress did in December was to take up the tax credits that expired at the end of 2013 and renew some of them. Jay Friedland, Plug In America's senior policy advisor, told AutoblogGreen that PIA and other likeminded organizations worked with Congress to extended the electronic vehicle charging station (technically: EVSE) tax credit that was part of the Alternative Refueling Tax Credit in IRS Section 30(C) through the end of 2014. "Individuals can deduct 30 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing an EVSE up to $1,000; businesses, 30 percent up to $30,000," he said. "This tax credit is applied to any system placed into service by 12/31/14 and is retroactive to the beginning of the year. So go out and buy your favorite EV driver an EVSE for the holidays," he said. An electric motorcycle credit was killed at the last minute as Congress was getting ready to leave, but H.R. 5771 did extend the Alternative Fuels Excise Tax Credits for liquefied hydrogen and other alternative fuels. These sorts of tax credit battles happen all year long. In July, Blumenthal introduced the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Infrastructure Act of 2014, which never got out of the Finance Committee. Back to the hydrogen vehicle situation.

Toyota produces millionth truck in Texas

After going online in 2006, Toyota's San Antonio, Texas truck plant has just built its one-millionth vehicle, the 2014 Tundra 1794 Edition you see above. The plant originally focused on just the Tundra pickup, but the smaller Tacoma started rolling off the line there in 2010, as well.
Fittingly, the 1794 Edition (a new premium trim level for 2014) pays homage to the property on which the Toyota plant now resides - a ranch that was founded in 1794. Scroll down for the official press release for the plant's milestone, and be sure to check out the full gallery of Tundra 1794 Edition images as well.

Toyota Camry could lose No. 1 sedan spot next year [w/video]

Eleven months after Toyota claimed the 2012 sales crown a couple of months early thanks to the Camry, the headlines this year have been quite a bit different to last. Even though the Camry remains the best selling car so far in 2013 and its volume has increased year-on-year, it has lost market share due to the 20-percent sales explosion in the midsize segment. That means people are buying more of the competitor offerings like the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion - the Altima, in fact, outsold the Camry by 100 units in March.
In July it was reported that Toyota was upping Camry incentives and fleet sales to keep its lead and that dealer inventory was climbing as, again, competitors got better at fighting the champion. In August Ford doubled down on production of the Fusion, adding a line in Flat Rock, MI to keep up with demand.
Bloomberg has a report looking at the numbers behind the Camry's dominance, as well as what appears to be a recorded group interview with Toyota USA CEO Jim Lentz, and wonders aloud whether the Camry will be able to hold its top spot in 2014. Barring catastrophe it has this year locked up, being more than 30,000 sales ahead of the next-best seller as of the end of August, but it has done so with higher incentives and lower transaction prices than its competitors. According to Strategic Vision the Camry's consideration rate among consumers has also declined by a percentage point, while the consideration rate for the Accord and Fusion has increased by one point and two points, respectively.