The Biden administration on Thursday awarded $1.7 billion to convert nearly a dozen shuttered or at-risk automobile plants into factories that can make electric vehicles and their parts.
The grants will assist 11 plants across eight states — Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia — and are designed to support “good-paying union jobs” while helping the U.S. compete with foreign players in the EV market, according to the Department of Energy.
President Biden wants to shift the U.S. to EVs instead of gas-powered cars as part of his climate change agenda. He is also positioning himself as a champion of blue-collar union labor and wants to ensure those goals are not at odds with each other.
“Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers,” Mr. Biden said. “This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and retain even more — from Lansing, Michigan to Fort Valley, Georgia — by helping auto companies retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities.”
Indeed, EVs are a campaign issue this year and former President Donald Trump has taken a populist stance against government “EV mandates.”
A new national poll released Thursday found seven in 10 likely voters oppose bans on gas-powered cars, and more than 60% are concerned they will be unable to buy the car of their choice in the next decade.
The poll was conducted by WPA Intelligence for American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Mr. Biden’s EV push also counters a decline in Americans’ enthusiasm for electric vehicles. A Gallup Poll in March showed that since 2023, EV ownership ticked up to 7% from 4% but more people — up to 48% from 41% — said they would never buy one.
Still, a senior administration official said that by retrofitting the auto plants, the U.S. will be able to produce 1 million more electric light-duty vehicles and 40,000 electrified trucks and buses per year, “nearly doubling our country’s annual production of electric vehicles.”
Major companies will be beneficiaries of the grants, including GM, Fiat-Chrysler Automotive, Volvo and suppliers such as American Auto Parts.
Mr. Biden is pushing automakers to convert to EV production through tax incentives, the expansion of charging stations and tighter regulations on emissions.
Mr. Trump has said that Mr. Biden’s “EV mandate” is squeezing union workers in key states like Michigan, will cost jobs and allow China to gain the edge in the auto market.
Mr. Trump has made “car choice” a mantra of his campaign, saying people should choose what they like.
“We are a nation whose leaders are demanding all-electric cars, despite the fact that they don’t go far, costs too much, and whose batteries are produced in China with materials only available in China,” Mr. Trump told supporters Tuesday in Doral, Florida.
The Biden administration said Thursday that the grants will ensure that American jobs thrive. It said the grants should create 2,900 jobs and retain 15,000 union workers.
Some of the grant recipients are located in presidential battleground states. Michigan is the heart of the auto sector and will award 15 electoral votes in November.
Volvo received $200 million as part of the grants to support three of its facilities. One is a Mack Trucks facility in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania — a critical piece of territory in the battle for the state’s 19 electoral votes.
“These grants will help ensure the future of the auto industry is made in America by American union workers,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ll never stop fighting for the American auto industry and American autoworkers.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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