Biden to Pitch his $174 Billion Electric Vehicle Plan in Michigan

By David Shepardson and Nandita Bose

He will also rule out consumer incentives for high-priced electric luxury models, according to a White House fact sheet, as he argues for dramatic government spending to prod Americans to buy electric vehicles at a preview of Fords new EV F-150 pickup truck.

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Biden is pushing for electric vehicles in the auto industrys heartland, and trying to win over auto workers worried that more battery electric cars and trucks will mean fewer jobs.

The White House wants to encourage new battery production facilities, which are key to ramping up U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing.

Bidens plan “proposes cost-sharing grants to support new high capacity battery facilities in the United States,” the fact sheet said, and backs grants to fund the retooling of shuttered factories “to build advanced vehicles and parts.”

United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble, who has criticized Ford and General Motors plans to build some EVs in Mexico, urged “Biden to make certain that investments to bolster electric vehicle production and sales incorporate strong labor standards and ensure that the vehicles of the future support good union jobs. Taxpayer dollars should be spent in support of U.S. built vehicles, not imports.”

The centerpiece of Bidens EV plan is $100 billion in consumer rebates, according to an April U.S. Transportation Department email to lawmakers.

The White House fact sheet says Bidens plan provides “point-of-sale incentives that encourage EV deployment. These incentives will not go towards expensive luxury models and will also incentivize manufacturers who use good labor practices.”

The existing $7,500 EV tax credit applies to vehicles regardless of price but phases out after a manufacturer sells 200,000 EVs. Credits for both Tesla and General Motors expired after they hit the cap.

The White House has declined to say how Biden wants EV tax credits restructured or if he wants to hike credits.

Biden will argue that the United States is falling behind China on EVs. “Despite pioneering the technology, the United States is behind in the race to manufacture these vehicles and the batteries that go in them,” the White House says.

Biden faces resistance from many congressional Republicans on his EV focus. Republicans are set to release a counterproposal to Bidens $2.3-trillion jobs and infrastructure plan as early as Tuesday.

Biden backs new tax credits for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which the White House notes “are major contributors to poor air quality” and the administration pegs as costing $10 billion.

Biden wants $15 billion to build 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030 – including in apartment buildings and public parking – and $45 billion to electrify a significant number of school and transit buses. He also wants to fund shifting the federal fleet to more EVs, including for the Postal Service to begin using EV delivery trucks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Nandita Bose; editing by Richard Pullin and Nick Zieminski)

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