Obama Proposes Tax Credit for Natural Gas, Electric Trucks
After touring Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner factory here on Wednesday, Obama said he would fight to permit tax credits that would equal half of the added cost of alternatively powered commercial vehicles.
Obama told the employees at the plant, “Both you and I know there are no quick fixes to the problem” of rising fuel costs, but he said using alternative fuels was one of the long-term answers.
DTNA officials said a Class 8 tractor powered by compressed natural gas currently costs about $40,000 more than a similar diesel-powered model.
While CNG is notably cheaper to buy than diesel, OEMs say it’s difficult to make up the acquisition cost differential in a reasonable time, which has slowed sales of the alternative fuel models.
