Fuel-Saving Technologies and Facility Conversion: Costs, Benefits, and Incentives

摘要

We, as others in the industry, predict there will be many more hybrids and advanced diesels sold in the United States in five to eight years from now, maybe as many as 1.8 million more. Given Japan's substantial technological and production lead in hybrids and Europes lead in smaller displacement diesels, offshore-based automakers and suppliers are likely to make the majority of these vehicles and their powertrain components outside the United States. As a result, the United States stands to lose 38,000 to 207,000 jobs depending on the future U.S. market size of hybrids and passenger diesels. These job losses are characterized either as direct losses of existing jobs or as jobs associated with the overseas production of vehicles that will be sold in the United States to meet a growing market demand. To promote the U.S. production of hybrids and passenger diesels, we propose the development of a policy that would provide all automakers and suppliers--foreign and domestic--with a tooling and equipment investment tax credit to be used to convert existing U.S. facilities toward the production of hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles and components.