Statement: Biden puts spotlight on electric vehicles with trip to Ford plant

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden is visiting a Ford Motor electric vehicle manufacturing plant Tuesday, where he is expected to view the new 2023 F-150 Lightning. The president has proposed building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations and providing consumers rebates and tax incentives to accelerate electric vehicle manufacturing in the United States and help more people purchase electric cars.

Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. To achieve a zero-carbon transportation system by 2050, Environment America and U.S. PIRG are calling for all new cars sold after 2035 to be electric. General Motors plans to phase out their gas- and diesel-powered cars and sport utility vehicles by 2035, and Ford and other car companies have also pledged to speed up electric vehicle production.

To support a future in which 10 percent of America's vehicles are electric - a conservative target for 2030 - the U.S. will need more than 600,000 new public charging stations, according to a new factsheet by Environment America Research & Policy Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Frontier Group.

Environment America's Washington Legislative Office Executive Director Lisa Frank released the following statement:

'More than 100 years ago, the Ford Motor company revolutionized transportation in the United States, and ultimately the world, by making it easier, cheaper and faster to travel by car. But all this driving came at a price we only understood decades later. The payment has included air pollution choking our cities and a warming, increasingly unstable climate.

'Today, it's possible to power our cars and buses and even Ford's beloved trucks with electricity. Now that we know a future without dirty tailpipes is in reach, it's time to combine American ingenuity with supportive policies to make it happen. We're urging Congress to make a downpayment on a safe, healthy climate by funding President Biden's American Jobs Plan, including a network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations to power the cars of the future and rebates to help consumers join the fight against global warming by purchasing electric cars.'

U.S. PIRG's Environment Campaigns Director Matt Casale released the following statement:

'The fuel we use to power our vehicles is wreaking havoc on our health. But in the 21st century, it doesn't have to be this way. If we swap the internal combustion engine with all-electric, zero emission vehicles, we can make the dirty tailpipe a thing of the past, and put ourselves on the road to a cleaner and healthier future for all Americans.

'President Biden's trip to Ford's electric vehicle plant in Michigan today isn't just symbolic. The 500,000 charging stations and electric vehicle incentives, as well as his proposed investment in electric school and transit buses, can help usher in a new era in transportation technology. We need Congress to act to ensure that cleaner electric vehicles become the norm and the internal combustion engine goes the way of other obsolete 20th century technology, like rotary phones and cassette tapes.'

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