The Chinese-owned electric vehicle (EV) battery maker AESC Group is boosting its presence in the U.S. market by building plants in South Carolina and Kentucky, its chief technology officer said on Oct. 15.
Mr. Akashi said the company already operates a battery plant in the United States that supplies Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor, but its expansion efforts in the world’s largest economy haven’t stopped there.
“We have not pressed the pause button [on plant construction],” he told the media outlet.
Representatives of AESC didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for further comment.
AESC was formerly owned by Nissan, which, in 2018, sold the business to Chinese energy group Envision.
“Collectively, AESC’s U.S. plants upon completion will provide up to 70 GWh capacity annually, powering the shift to electric vehicles with U.S.-made batteries and components,” the company stated.
Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requires EV batteries to have at least 40 percent of their core minerals sourced from North America or countries with free trade agreements with the United States to qualify for a tax credit.“Since the Democrat’s Inflation Reduction Act, I have been deeply concerned that China would benefit from American taxpayer dollars,” Mr. Rubio said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.
“Now, reports that Chinese firms are setting up partnerships in South Korea in order to qualify for Joe Biden and the Democrats’ EV tax credits prove those concerns are warranted.
“This is a clear attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to circumvent U.S. law and use American taxpayers’ money to expand its influence in Asia.”
American consumers could use the clean vehicle tax credit of up to $7,500 per new qualified vehicle purchase if the China–South Korea partnerships are in joint ventures, said Prateek Biswas, a research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, a UK-based global energy research and consulting company.
He said that’s because the current definition of “foreign entity of concern” covers companies “owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction of the Chinese government.”