Battery-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Harbinger Motors has announced a new initiative it says will help ensure and stabilize pricing for its medium-duty vehicles during this time of market uncertainty over the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and ongoing changes in EV regulations.
Called the IRA Risk-Free Guarantee, the plan is designed to potentially replace the federal government's IRA 45W Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit of up to $40,000 per EV. For now, the IRA credit is still in place but it's future remains uncertain under the Trump administration. Harbinger isn't taking any chances so it wants to guarantee its customers will still receive a similar price cut even if the IRA credit is discontinued during the current tax year.
“We created this program to eliminate the financial uncertainty for customers who are interested in EV adoption, but are concerned about the future of the IRA tax credit,” said John Harris, co-founder and CEO of Harbinger. “For electric vehicles to go mainstream, they must be cost-competitive with diesel vehicles. While the IRA tax credit helps bridge that gap, we remain committed to price parity with diesel, even if the credit disappears. Our vertically integrated approach enables us to keep costs low, shields us from tariff volatility, and ensures long-term price stability for our customers.”
Harbinger says that if the IRS incentive is repealed for the 2025 tax year anytime before or on January 1, 2026, the company will waive the remaining customer balance that's equal to the estimated minimum credit. If the federal credit is left untouched, customers will simply pay the balance, which should be fully offset by the credit.
If the credit is repealed, Harbinger adds it'll automatically waive the second payment, guaranteeing customers walk away with the same purchase price, with or without the IRA.
Here's one buying scenario: A Class 5 Harbinger S524 chassis carries an MSRP of $103,200, buyers will receive an upfront IRA Risk-Free Guarantee credit of $12,900, bringing the price down to $90,300 - roughly the same price as a Freightliner MT-45 diesel MD stripped chassis.
Harbinger has been in the news over the past several months, starting with receiving over 4,000 binding pre-orders worth over $400 million from industry players such as Bimbo Bakeries ISA and THOR Industries, among others.
This was followed by the announcement it had raised $100 million in Series B funding, which brought total investment to $200 million since the company's 2021 founding.
