A key part of the climate goals by the Biden administration is reducing and eventually eliminating vehicle emissions. That is part of a $174 billion push to put more electric vehicles on U.S. roads by the Biden administration.
President Joe Biden traveled to Dearborn, Mich., to see firsthand the new Ford F-150 picking that is electric powered, not using an internal combustion engine. But even that push by Ford drew some comments by Biden about the prospects that EVs could be built in other countries and brought back into the U.S.
"We need automakers and other companies to keep investing here in America and not take the benefits of our public investments and expand electric vehicles and battery manufacturing abroad," Biden said, a reference to Ford rival General Motors announcing plants to make a $1 billion investment in building EVs in Mexico and Ford opting to build some EVs in Mexico versus Ohio.
But even as Biden got to drive the F-150 that will formally be unveiled on Wednesday, it was still camouflaged so that no one could get an early peek at the new truck.
Rather than using consumer incentives for high-priced vehicles, Reuters reported that the White House wants to use government spending "to prod Americans to buy electric vehicles."
Rebates and tax credits are the usual routes used to financially encourage consumers to buy something like an EV that can be more expensive than a traditionally gasoline-power vehicle.
But there are consumer rebates involved in the push for them to purchase EVs -- $100 billion of the $174 billion effort is for such rebates. More spending on battery facilities and technologies is also planned as a way to bring the cost of the EVs down.
There has been a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of EVs, but White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy told Bloomberg TV that Biden is looking to "actually provide consumer rebates at the point of sale." She argues that will make it more likely that lower or middle-income Americans might be able to afford the vehicles.
One of the keys for EVs, however, is charging stations. There are currently less than 100,000 of them in the U.S., and few if any in more remote areas of the country. And the cost of putting those charging stations in place will be a key one with the administration wanting Congress to approve funding to put 500,000 of them in place.
But many point out even that many charging stations will not be enough to meet an aggressive push for EVs.
The other issues for EVs that consumers will need to be convinced of will include their range. Currently, there is about a 250-mile range for EVs, a range that works fairly well for urban settings. But that may temper interest in areas where consumers have to drive for distances to get even basic services.
The recharging time will also be important even if there are more charging stations available.
And for those in northern climates, there is the issue of winter travel. Currently, internal combustion engines provide heat to keep vehicle passengers warm. In EVs, providing heat takes extra battery power and reduces the travel range.
By putting an EV pickup together in the form of the best-selling F-150, Ford is clearly trying to woo what may well be one of the more difficult-to-convince customers: Farmers. They rely on vehicles and at times need to travel at a moment's notice. And having to charge a vehicle first or fully to do that could be a major hurdle.
But those championing EVs contend there will be better and better battery technology ahead that will address these issues. But then the same argument was made on cellulosic ethanol which has failed to reach that key "commercially viable" stage.
And then there is the matter of replacing gasoline-powered vehicles, something which means less ethanol being used. And that is raising more than a few concerns with farmers who have helped in the push for ethanol over the years.
So we will see. EVs are clearly going to be in the U.S. vehicle mix ahead and will increase in numbers and use. But the broad deployment of those vehicles is coming. And with that will come challenges and opportunities, matters which agriculture will need to monitor closely, Washington Insider believes.