While Donald Trump Discharge on electric vehicles And China becomes a “Electric vehicle export genea”, “ The Biden administration aims to maintain the budding electric vehicle industry in the United States alive and booming.
Thursday, the administration announced $ 2 billion in grants in manufacturers of fossil fuel vehicles and their suppliers. Money will be used to convert these factories into manufacturing operations of EV vehicles and parts, while preserving traditional jobs for car workers. The money was approved by the congress as part of the so-called Inflation reduction law in 2022.
The American automotive industry is concentrated in the Midwest and the South, and most of the 11 subsidies announced by the Department of Energy will land in political swing states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia. The factories of Illinois Blue States, Maryland and Virginia will also receive subsidies, as is the red state of Indiana.
“This is a big problem, relatively speaking,” said Arun Kumar at the Alixpartners consulting firm. “Timing is just because when you have doubts about what the future is, it's good to have good news.”
Out of doubts, it refers to The forecasts of his business and others that show that the growth in sales EV slows down. He also said that a change in the White House this fall adds to uncertainty. It is questionable “how the policy will work if you have a new administration between and does not prioritize the thrust of electric vehicles,” he said.
However, it expects the American automotive industry to remain attached to electric vehicles, largely because China has become the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world and develops rapidly, exporting in the world – Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia, and even more, although not much in the United States, in large part, many models, long hours of work and heavy subsidies, cars carry a lot of lower prices, and many models will have to rent out High quality car examiners.
The United States responded in May erect a large wall To keep vehicles outside, at least for the moment: a 100% price which erases the advantage of China prices, then some. Europe followed With smaller but always rigid prices.
If China continues to push cheaper electric vehicles – better for consumer portfolios and better for the climate – it can be increasingly difficult for other nations to resist, even if domestic jobs are at stake. Thus, car manufacturers around the world know that they cannot leave in place to make more electric vehicles and make them cheaper, said Kumar.
California will not receive any of the subsidies, as no engine vehicle factory here has closed recently or is considered to be imminent in danger.
Not that there is much here to close in a state which was once a large manufacturer of motor vehicles. Despite billions of dollars to subsidize manufacturers of electric vehicles and buyers of electric vehicles in the state, only two large EV assembly factories remain in California: the Tesla car manufacturer in Fremont, and the electric bus manufacturer byd, in Lancaster.
California Energy Commission gave An electric bus manufacturer A 3 million dollars grant Towards a new factory in the city of industry, which opened in 2020. Three years later, the company, Proterra, closed it and moved its manufacture in South Carolina, before declaring the bankruptcy of chapter 11 A few months later and divide into pieces.
The Biden administration said that the companies that received subsidies have agreed to preserve or hire a large number of traditional workforce in the automotive industry, have undertaken to recycle them for EV work and promised to pay them higher than the average.
The subsidies grant up to 50% of the cost of a factory conversion, companies picking up the rest.
The recipients include:
- General Motors: $ 500 million to the conversion of an internal combustion Cadillac factory in Lansing, Michigan, to build electric vehicles instead.
- FCA North America, an arm of Stellantis: $ 334 million to reopen a recently closed Jeep Cherokee factory in Belvidere, Illinois, to make unidentified EV models as well.
- Volvo: $ 280 million to build electric trucks and combustible batteries and Volvo trucks in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.
- Harley-Davidson: $ 89 million to an electric motorcycle factory in York, Penn.
- Blue Bird Body Company: $ 79 million to build a new electric school bus line on the site of a former manufacturer of automotive houses in Fort Valley, Georgia.
- Cummins: $ 75 million to convert a range of internal combustion products to Columbus, in Ind., To make batteries and other electrical electrical parts.
