The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday said that electric vehicles leased by consumers starting Jan. 1 can qualify for up to $7,500 in commercial clean vehicle tax credits, a decision that makes those assembled outside North America eligible.
The announcement is a win for some automakers that earlier this month sought approval to use the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access. Automakers said the credit could be used to reduce leasing prices.
The $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act passed in August ended $7,500 consumer tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles assembled outside North America, angering South Korea, the European Union, Japan and others. The new Treasury guidance does not change the definition of what constitutes North American final assembly to make more vehicles eligible for EV purchases.
Treasury said it was using "longstanding tax principles" to determine consumer leasing could qualify for the EV tax credit.