Toyota is mounting an aggressive push to make itself a more influential player in Washington, dramatically dialing up its lobbying spending and building cozy relationships with crucial American lawmakers such as Sen. Joe Manchin.
On Wednesday, those efforts appeared to pay off, as an electric-vehicle tax credit extension the company had championed made it into a $369 billion (¥49.2 trillion) climate and energy package revealed by Manchin and Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The deal calls for continuing a $7,500 credit for the purchase of new "clean cars,” a priority the Japanese automaker has been fighting for alongside its U.S. rivals General Motors and Ford.