Biden announces funds for EV charging stations in 35 states
President Joe Biden took a victory lap on Wednesday at the Detroit auto show, highlighting automakers' increasing shift to electric vehicles and billions of dollars in new investments in battery plants.
During a speech, Biden announced the approval of the first $900 million in U.S. funding to build EV charging stations in 35 states as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure law approved last November.
Detroit's Big Three automakers are showing off a number of new EVs at the car show. The U.S. Congress and Biden, a self-described "car guy," have pledged tens of billions of dollars in loans, manufacturing and consumer tax credits and grants to speed the transition away from internal combustion vehicles to cleaner EVs.
Still, gasoline-powered vehicles, like the V-8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Biden got on, are well-represented at the exhibition.
A significant majority of new vehicles sold by the Detroit Three are still gas-powered models and Tesla dominates the U.S. electric vehicle market and outsells the Detroit Three automakers combined on EVs.
White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi told Reuters automakers and battery firms in 2022 have announced "$13 billion into EV manufacturing" as they accelerate "the pace of their investment into capital projects here in the United States."
In August 2021, Biden set a goal that EVs or plug-in hybrid vehicles represent 50% of all U.S. new vehicle sales by 2030.
The Detroit Three back the nonbinding goal of 50%.
The trip to the Detroit auto show, the largest such event in North America, is part of stepped-up travel in advance of the midterm elections to highlight his party’s agenda. Democrat Biden sought to refocus voter attention on the strides the nation is making in the transition to electric vehicles under his leadership and the role unions will play in the industry's future.
Reuters
