Americans bought 1.3 million fully-electric cars, trucks and SUVs in 2024 and tax credits of up to $7,500 on new EVs was one of the major factors driving take-up. But those credits might to be around much longer judging by comments made by a senior Republican.

“I think there is a better chance we kill it than save it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said of the tax credit system in an interview with Bloomberg this week. “But we’ll see how it comes out.”

Related: IRS Lets EV Buyers Claim Missed Tax Credits Retroactively

It’s been no secret that the new Trump administration is not a big fan of the credits, which were introduced during Barack Obama’s time in office and have undergone changes during Joe Biden’s era governing which EVs and which buyers are eligible. Other countries, including the UK and Germany, have already scrapped subsidies, believing EV demand is now strong enough for the segment to survive without them (sales are up in the UK, down in Germany).

Axing the credits would fit in with Trump’s policies of promoting fossil fuels and dismantling green initiatives started during the four years before his second stint at the White House began. And dropping credits would also help Republicans meet their target of saving $2 trillion from government spending, though it’s real impact would be almost imperceptible considering ‘only’ $2 billion was spent on EV subsidies in the first 10 months of last year.

The impact of canning the credits on US carmakers and customer demand for EVs, however, could be very significant. Electric cars are currently more expensive to make than gas cars and credits help bring the retail price closer to ICE money, though not all battery vehicles are eligible.

Take-up of EVs was already slower in the US in 2024 than it had been in 2023 and without the credit sweetener buyers might choose to buy a combustion car instead at a time when US-based automakers have invested billions in developing electric cars and batteries, and in some cases creating entirely new plants in which to build them.

Those points may help save the incentives because some Republican lawmakers might be unwilling to vote for something that could lead to job losses in their region, while others are already in favor of safeguarding some existing green initiatives.