The U.S. cannot outcompete China by ignoring the EV revolution, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
What Happened: Americans shouldn’t just embrace cheap EVs coming from China over its own EVs because it’s not “fair competition,” Buttigieg said in an interview with Axios last week, referring to the subsidization of EV manufacturing by the Chinese government.
“…they're (China) doing this because it is strategic. Because they understand the strategic value of trying to dominate the EV market, because the EV market is where the entire automotive sector is going. This is why it really harmed our economic security when the Trump Administration all but deliberately gave China the advantage in the EV market, and now we are working to reclaim it onto American soil,” Buttigieg said.
He also added that EV sales are growing, despite concerns about dwindling demand.
"What we know is that every year, more Americans buy EVs than the year prior,” Buttigieg said while adding that the government is aiming to make EVs cheaper and increase charging infrastructure to enable the transition.
“Look, it took us 100 years to get the network of gas stations that we have today. We just don't have that long for EV charging network," Buttigieg added. The Biden administration aims to have at least half a million EV chargers across the country by the end of the decade.
Buttigieg said that the number of publicly available chargers has nearly doubled to 188,000 since Joe Biden took office, thanks to the private sector. Any gaps will be filled with federal dollars with a bulk of those chargers getting installed in 2026, 2027, and 2028, he said.
“…but the first handful of them are already going into the ground and will soon be in use," Buttigieg added.
Ideological Differences On EVs: Talking about ideological differences surrounding EVs, Buttigieg said that it is “frustrating” that something nonpolitical should get an ideological valence, such as in the case of public health and vaccines. However, Buttigieg is positive that the differences won’t affect EV adoption in the long term.
“I think the reason it ultimately will not be a barrier for the long-term is that there are so many various benefits to having one (EV). So, you don't have to be a Democrat or a Republican to want to save money,” he said while noting that EVs are reaching cost parity with gas vehicles.
The transition to EVs, however, is not without challenges. There are challenges to the grid and a lack of charging infrastructure to facilitate the EV transition overnight, Buttigieg said, while adding that there is no ‘mandate’ to switch to EVs as alleged by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Biden administration is only looking to ensure that about half of new vehicle sales will be EVs by the end of the decade, he added.
“We don't have the grid or the charging network to accommodate some kind of overnight switch. We're not driving one, we're definitely not mandating one, and we're not expecting one,” Buttigieg said while adding that choice will continue to be offered to customers.
The point of subsidies is to ensure that EVs are more affordable for those who choose to have one, depending on their needs, he noted.
Why It Matters: EV transition is a major point of discussion in the presidential campaign.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is seeking elimination of subsidies for electric vehicles. "I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one, thereby saving the auto industry from complete obliteration which is happening right now, and saving US customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car," Trump said earlier this month at the fourth and final night of the Republic National Convention in Milwaukee.
However, both Democrats and Republicans are on the same page regarding EV imports from China and heightened tariffs on EVs made in China to protect domestic automakers from competition against lower-priced Chinese EVs.
EV giant Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk endorsed Trump earlier this month while the United Auto Workers union endorsed Biden for President in January. Biden, however, withdrew from the Presidential race earlier this month. The union did not yet endorse Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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Photo courtesy: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
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