According to foreign media reports, US President Joe Biden plans to attend the Detroit auto show on September 14, local time, making more people aware that automakers are accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and companies Billions of dollars in investment in building battery factories.
At this year’s auto show, Detroit’s three major automakers will showcase a variety of electric vehicles. The U.S. Congress and Biden, a self-described “auto enthusiast,” have previously pledged tens of billions of dollars in loans, manufacturing and consumer tax breaks and grants aimed at accelerating the U.S. transition from combustion-engine vehicles to electric vehicles.
GM CEO Mary Barra, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Chairman John Elkann, and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr will greet Biden at the auto show, where the latter will See a selection of eco-friendly models, then speak on the transition to electric vehicles.
Image credit: Reuters
Although Biden and the U.S. government are aggressively promoting electric vehicles, car companies still launch many gasoline-powered models, and most of the cars currently sold by Detroit’s top three are still gasoline vehicles. Tesla dominates the U.S. electric vehicle market, selling more EVs than Detroit’s Big Three combined.
In recent times, the White House has released a series of major investment decisions from U.S. and foreign automakers that will build new battery factories in the United States and produce electric vehicles in the United States.
White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi said that in 2022, automakers and battery companies have announced “$13 billion to invest in the U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing industry” that will accelerate “the pace of investment in U.S.-based capital projects.” Zaidi revealed that Biden’s speech will focus on the “momentum” of electric vehicles, including the fact that the price of batteries has fallen by more than 90% since 2009.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced in July that it would provide a $2.5 billion loan to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG New Energy, to build a new lithium-ion battery factory.
In August 2021, Biden set a goal that by 2030, sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will account for 50% of total U.S. new vehicle sales. For this 50% non-binding goal, Detroit’s three major automakers expressed support.
In August, California mandated that by 2035, all new cars sold in the state must be pure electric or plug-in hybrids. The Biden administration has refused to set a specific date for phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles.
Electric vehicle battery makers are now looking to boost their U.S. production as the U.S. begins to impose stricter regulations and tighten eligibility for tax credits.
Honda recently announced that it will partner with South Korean battery supplier LG New Energy to invest $4.4 billion to build a battery factory in the United States. Toyota also said it would increase its investment in a new battery plant in the U.S. to $3.8 billion from a previously planned $1.29 billion.
GM and LG New Energy invested $2.3 billion to build a joint venture battery plant in Ohio, which started producing batteries in August this year. The two companies are also considering building a new cell plant in New Carlisle, Indiana, which is expected to cost about $2.4 billion.
On September 14, Biden will also announce the approval of the first US$900 million in funding for the construction of electric vehicle charging stations in 35 states as part of the US$1 trillion infrastructure bill approved in November last year. .
The U.S. Congress approved nearly $5 billion in funding to provide states over the next five years to build thousands of electric vehicle charging stations. Biden wants to have 500,000 new chargers across the U.S. by 2030.
The lack of sufficient charging stations is one of the main factors hindering the adoption of electric vehicles. “We need to see a rapid increase in the number of electric vehicle charging stations,” Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan told the media on Sept. 13.
At the Detroit Auto Show, Biden will also announce that the U.S. government’s electric vehicle purchases have risen sharply. Less than 1 percent of new vehicles purchased by the federal government in 2020 were electric vehicles, compared with more than double in 2021. In 2022, the White House said, “agencies will purchase five times as many electric vehicles as they did in the previous fiscal year.”
Biden signed an executive order in December requiring that by 2027, government departments choose all electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids when purchasing vehicles. The U.S. government fleet has more than 650,000 vehicles and purchases approximately 50,000 vehicles annually.
Post time: Sep-16-2022