When President Donald Trump vowed last year to kill “the green new scam,” South Carolina voters likely assumed he meant progressive proposals like the“Green New Deal” by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
But what if he was actually including something that hit much closer to home – the Palmetto State’s fast-growing, billion-dollar electric vehicle (EV) industry?
That’s the question now facing S.C. political and business leaders as a raft of new Trump administration executive orders targeting federal clean energy initiatives threaten the state’s multibillion dollar bet on EV manufacturing and technology.
To date, S.C. officials have worked to downplay the conflict, perhaps reflecting Trump’s long-time popularity with state voters.
“South Carolina remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting all industries,” S.C. Commerce Department spokesman Alex Clark told Statehouse Report on Jan. 27, while declining to speculate on potential outcomes.
That statement was in keeping with Gov. Henry McMaster’s comments earlier in the month, which first signaled the state’s “keep calm and carry on” approach to the issue.
“There may be some rollbacks. There may be partial rollbacks,” McMaster told reporters on Jan. 9. “But if that is a strong industry, and I believe it will be, it’ll be just fine.”
But according to experts like Stan Cross of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the Palmetto State has “a lot at stake” as Trump moves to limit federal EV investments and incentives.
“South Carolina has been very successful, attracting over $13 billion in private sector investments, which are expected to create more than 11,000 jobs manufacturing electric vehicles and batteries,” Cross said. “A strong EV market is in the state’s interest.”
S.C. Sen. Ed Sutton, D-Charleston, echoed those concerns, calling Trump’s moves “incredibly harmful” to the state’s economy.
“I encourage our Republican U.S. senators and House members to push back,” Sutton said. “Or be prepared to answer the mail when thousands of South Carolina workers no longer have a job.”
The big picture
With major auto manufacturers like BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen already making cars in S.C., including some EVs, why have state leaders put such a focus on expanding EV and battery manufacturing?
First, and most obviously, it’s a growing market. One out of every five cars sold around the world last year was an EV.
But even more, the emergence of the EV sector has given S.C. a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build advanced automotive factories that are capable of manufacturing more complex and profitable components, such as batteries and engines.
That’s critical in a state whose auto plants have traditionally added only about 25% of the final value of the cars they manufacture, according to a 2022 state report — a fact that Trump derided in an October 2024 interview with Bloomberg News.
“They don’t build cars, they take them out of a box and they assemble them,” Trump said of S.C. auto workers. “We could have our child do it.”
But to change that, S.C. is relying on Biden administration EV initiatives that Trump’s recent executive orders would eliminate.
Experts say that four orders are of particular concern:
- One ends the $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases.
- Another freezes federal spending on charging stations.
- A third pauses all grants and loans, including subsidies for EV and battery manufacturers in S.C.
- And a fourth effectively rolls back Biden-mandated fuel economy standards, which were expected to drive future EV sales.
“The Biden administration’s standards basically dictated that by 2030 or 2035, 50% to 60% of new car sales would have to be EVs,” said John Connaughton, a UNC Charlotte economist who’s studied the EV market. “And that just got turned around the other day.”
‘A wait and see period’
According to experts, the biggest near-term threat from Trump’s orders will probably be slower EV investment, as manufacturers try to understand the new landscape.
“The main factor we see in the short run is that these EV changes introduce more uncertainty,” University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen told Statehouse Report in a Jan. 27 interview. “And uncertainty tends to breed paralysis, because it limits what businesses can know about the future and makes them more cautious [regarding] investment decisions.”
Nevertheless, Von Nessen says, the fate of S.C.’s EV gamble will be determined more by consumer demand than any particular set of executive orders.
“Looking long term, there’s still no question we’ll see real growth in the EV market,” he said. “The question is how fast the market will expand and where it will settle.”
And because S.C.’s EV manufacturers are focused on the international market, where sales are more robust, the potential for success is still strong, he says.
“As an export-oriented manufacturing state, South Carolina is looking at global demand, not just what’s happening in the U.S.,” he said. “And manufacturers are going to continue to respond to that.”
Still, Von Nessen circled back to the problem of uncertainty, particularly when asked about the impact of promised Trump tariffs.
“We’re really in a wait and see period,” he said.
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