The infrastructure bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives includes a huge boost for the infrastructure needed to re-charge electric vehicles across the U.S.
The consumer shift to electric vehicles continues to gain momentum, especially in bigger markets.
Nearly 12% of the vehicles sold in California this year are electrified, meaning they ran only on batteries or have internal combustion engines or could be plugged in to run on batteries. The stats come courtesy of Veloz, the organization commissioned by the State of California to promote EV sales, which also collects data on sales of electrified vehicles.
More than 135,000 battery electric vehicles were sold in California during the first nine months of 2021, according to Veloz, which says the state also has more than 76,000 EV chargers.
You gotta believe
A new study by Alix partners indicates “BEV Believers” — those very likely to buy a battery-electric vehicle as their next vehicle — have gone from 5% to 19% in the U.S.
Tesla, which is posting record sales numbers, is a major factor in California EV sales. But Ford, thanks to the growing popularity of the Mustang Mach-E, reports 8% of its vehicles sales are electrified now and the figure is expected to grow as the company adds the all-electric Transit van and the all-electric F-150 Lightning to its lineup.
Other carmakers, notably General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes, are rapidly adding new electric models, while Stellantis reports the plug-in electric hybrid Wrangler, which runs on both gas and/or batteries is becoming a big seller for the Jeep brand — and the best-selling hybrid in the U.S.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which already has been approved by the U.S. Senate, includes $7.5 billion exclusively for the electric vehicle charging as part of the broader effort to ameliorate the impact of climate change.
Biden hails bill
“We’re going to build out the first-ever national network of charging stations all across the country — over 500,000 of them. So, you’ll be able to go across the whole darn country, from East Coast to West Coast, just like you’d stop at a gas station now. These charging stations will be available,” said Biden, who will formally sign the legislation during a White House ceremony probably sometime this week.
The numbers in Biden’s statement during the weekend were greeted with some skepticism by some experts, who noted the total amount of money dedicated to EV charging in the infrastructure bill was cut by half in the final version of bill approved by the House and Senate. In addition, the U.S. would need to build 2.4 million chargers in public places to meet the Biden administration’s goal of having EVs represent half the new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030, some experts said.
However, other experts have said it appears EVs have reached an inflection point were demand for electric vehicles will grow exponentially. In addition, the adoption of EVs for commercial vehicles is moving very quickly, automakers note.
Second bill with EV credits pending
A separate bill designed by the Biden administration includes tax breaks for purchasers of EV vehicles. The tax breaks are tilted in favor of union-made vehicles, triggering complaints about discrimination by non-union automakers. The bill is now pending in Congress and is expected to pass before the middle of December since it includes provisions to extend the U.S. debt limit.
The infrastructure bill now on Biden’s desk also sets aside more than $60 billion to improve the resiliency of the U.S. electric power grid, which needs to be more robust to support the demand for the power for electric vehicles, according to exports. Winter storms in Texas and heavy rains in Michigan, hurricanes and storm in other parts of the country have cut off power to millions of Americans around the U.S. this year.
Nevertheless, the American Alliance for Manufacturing, among other groups is hailing the infrastructure bill as a step towards repairing years of neglect and under investment in transportation networks, including roads and bridges, which have been failing for years.
Infrastructure bill big deal
“The House of Representatives has given its approval, and now the long journey to rebuild America’s failing infrastructure can really begin as soon as President Biden signs the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” the AAM said.
“America’s factory workers and manufacturers stand ready and willing to rebuild roads, bridges, the electric grid, public transit, water systems, and so much more. We’re also ready to build our clean energy future, from solar panels and wind turbines to electric vehicle charging stations.”
The AAM said it was encouraging to see the bill includes strong “Buy America” provisions to ensure these resources are reinvested back into “our workers, companies, and communities. We should avoid sending taxpayer money overseas when this work can be done here at home.”