Subaru said that it has no plan to build its electric cars in the US because it claims it can\u2019t compete with McDonald\u2019s $20-an-hour starting wage.<\/p>\n
Since the reform of the federal tax credit for electric vehicles in the US was announced, we have reported on over a dozen announcements from foreign automakers investing in EV production in the country.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s due to the new federal tax credit, which includes a protectionist clause that forces automakers to produce EVs in North America to get access to the $7,500 incentive.<\/p>\n
The incentive is significant enough that in some lower-end segments, it will be hard to compete without it.<\/p>\n
However, we now learn that it is not enough to convince Subaru to invest in electric vehicle production in North America. The reason behind the decision is quite surprising.<\/p>\n
In comments about it during the company\u2019s latest financial results release, CEO Tomomi Nakamura\u00a0said that Subaru is currently not considering building an electric car plant in the US because it can\u2019t compete with McDonald\u2019s wages (via Auto News<\/a>):<\/p>\n In Indiana, part-time workers at McDonald\u2019s earn $20 to $25 per hour, which is in competition with what temporary workers make at our plant. If we were to build a new plant, it would be very difficult to hire new people for that. Labor costs are rising now. It is quite challenging for us to secure workers for our Indiana plant, including those of suppliers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Subaru currently operates a vehicle assembly plant in Indiana, where it employs about 6,000 workers to produce the Ascent, Impreza, Legacy, and\u00a0Outback models.<\/p>\n\n