Gary Zhou 
President Joe Biden is campaigning for United States automakers to commit to a sales goal that would see 40% of its delivered units be electric by 2030. The request from Biden is still in the negotiation phase, according to a UAW representative, who stated no agreement had been reached yet.
The White House has emphasized American car companies begin a serious effort to manufacture and sell electric cars. Aligning with lofty climate goals set for the rest of the decade, Biden is looking at the transportation sector for assistance, calling on domestic car companies to agree to 40% of its total sales be electric. Earlier this week, the White House announced that it would set aside $7.5 billion of its massive $550 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal toward electric vehicle charging stations. The push toward increasing the availability of charging points for EVs would focus on “rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities” in particular.
However, the increase in charging stations would need to be supported by an increased number of electric cars on the road. EVs account for a small percentage of the U.S. automotive market, with around 2 to 3% of the total cars on the road. This number is increasing year over year, but Biden would like to see more effort put forth on increasing the available options from domestic automakers.
Companies like Ford and GM have already released electrified models on the market, and they are performing well in sales terms. A recent report from Car and Driver revealed that the GM-owned Chevy Bolt EV was the third most popular electric car so far this year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E was the fourth best-selling EV. These two vehicles followed the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3, which took first and second place, respectively.
Ford’s commitment to 40% of its sales being electric has already been established, according to company spokesperson Melissa Miller. “Ford has already said that we are leading the electrification revolution and planning on at least 40% of our global vehicle volume being all-electric by 2030,” Miller said in an emailed statement to Reuters. GM said that it did not have a comment to make as an agreement had not been reached.
With government incentives still said to be a circling concern of EV buyers, the White House has reportedly been talking about reintroducing the tax incentive program that establishes more financial advantages for potential buyers. The $7,500 EV tax credit currently expires after an automaker reaches 200,000 sales. Tesla and GM are the only two car companies that have reached this threshold. The credit may be bumped to $12,500: $7,500 for the electric vehicle, an additional $2,500 for vehicles assembled within the United States, and another potential $2,500 for cars built at production facilities whose workers are members of or are represented by a labor union. The incentive could be reintroduced by Biden’s $174 billion EV aid package, $100 billion of which has been slotted out for customer rebates.
