Kia plans to encourage shoppers to lease one of its electric vehicles to make the most of an Inflation Reduction Act provision., Kia America’s sales chief Eric Watson noted that EVs only currently qualify for the $7,500 tax credit if they have battery components mostly assembled or made in North America as well as materials extracted in the U.S. or in a country thehas a free-trade agreement with.
“Now that it’s all settled, every brand is going to see how they can use those provisions to best position their electric vehicles and build their business going forward,” Watson said. “Leasing will be a key component of how Kia develops and sells its EVs until it can qualify for partial or full tax credit.”and Nio EV are manufactured in South Korea and therefore do not meet the requirements to receive the $7,500 tax credit.