Biden praises private investments in e-mobility – but some large corporations are missing from his list

The White House has now published a list of dozens of electric mobility announcements by companies. The message seems to be: Look, these big companies are participating. But not all companies with electrification plans are on Biden’s list.

The largest private investments flow into the replacement of combustion vehicle fleets, as the list shows. The online retailer Amazon has put more than 3,000 electric vans on the road and plans to operate as many as 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2030.

Waymo, the autonomous taxi operator from the Google group, wants to phase out its combustion engine fleet this year and switch to fully electric Jaguar models. And First Student, one of the largest providers of school buses, wants to replace a total of 30,000 school buses with electric versions.

The German company Siemens plans to set up charging stations at all of its US locations and in the homes of its employees. In addition, the US company fleet of 10,000 vehicles is to be fully electric.

The White House spoke in a statement of a “historic conversion”. Electric vehicle sales have tripled under Biden’s presidency. The number of publicly accessible charging stations has also increased by over 40 percent since he took office.

Charging station in Manhattan

According to the US government, the number of charging stations has increased significantly in recent years.

(Photo: Reuters)

The White House lists a total of over three million electric cars on US roads, and there are also a good 132,000 public charging stations nationwide. That sounds like a lot, but in view of the 282 million vehicles registered in the USA, it shows the extent of the planned conversion.

Car manufacturers and transport companies are not on the list

It is interesting which companies are missing from the list. So none of the big American automakers is represented. Also, no classic transport company with prominent destinations wants to be quoted. One can only speculate about the reasons. However, it seems conceivable that some companies do not want to be said to be too close to the Biden government and are therefore not listed.

Some mentions are primarily statements of intent or marketing messages. The car rental company Hertz, for example, has announced that it intends to arrange almost two million e-car rentals in 2023, five times more than in 2022. And Mercedes-Benz has announced its intention to hold “Electric Dream Days” in April, at which dealers will be able to talk about the advantages to inform about e-cars. At the beginning of the year, the carmaker had already announced an expansion of the fast charging network.

The White House also thinks new online tools provided by tech companies and major banks are helpful. Google wants to offer a new search tool that consumers can use to search for available tax rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles. Wells Fargo has an application calculate the relationship between the costs and benefits of converting vehicle fleets.

Biden has prescribed the federal authorities to switch to electric vehicles: in 2023 they had already purchased 13,000 electric vehicles, four times as many as in 2022. From 2027 all newly purchased federal cars must be emission-free, from 2035 all trucks too.

Incentives instead of prohibitions

Many of the investments made by private companies are at least indirectly related to US policy. Under Biden, the USA is primarily relying on financial incentives when it comes to converting to electromobility. A ban on new combustion engines, as now decided in the European Union and already implemented by countries like Norway, is not up for debate.

Not everyone shares this course. The head of the investment boutique DAI Magister, Victor Basta, criticizes that. Europe manages the conversion to sustainable management better than the USA, he told the Handelsblatt. “Because Europe is doing the same thing as China and is relying on a combination of money and regulation,” he says. The US, on the other hand, only distributes subsidies, according to Basta.

Electric car in an underground garage in Baltimore

Customers of electric car manufacturers benefit from tax rebates if their vehicles are produced in North America.

(Photo: Reuters)

The most important instrument of the US government is the “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA). The subsidy package passed in 2022 is worth a good 430 billion dollars. It provides generous tax rebates for buyers of electric cars produced in North America and supports the development of charging stations.

It triggered a North American boom in the auto industry. “The IRA works. It helps to set up new charging stations, ”said the head of the largest US charging network operator, Charge Point, Pasquale Romano, to the Handelsblatt.

The CEO of the Swedish-Chinese electric car brand Polestar, Thomas Ingenlath, also emphasizes the signaling effect of the IRA. On Tuesday in New York he unveiled the new Polestar 3, a large SUV aimed at the US market.

The Polestar CEO is certain that he can grow with the new model: “We will significantly increase our market share in the USA.” From 2024, Polestar also wants to produce regionally at the Volvo plant in South Carolina instead of importing the cars from China . Because the imported vehicles are not currently subject to the IRA tax rebates.

Smoldering dispute with the EU

It’s moves like these that add to Biden’s agenda. The US President wants to boost domestic industrial production with the help of sustainable technologies and is willing to accept higher government debt to do so.

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At the same time, however, his policies put a strain on the transatlantic relationship. The IRA subsidy package creates high market barriers for foreign car manufacturers. Some EU manufacturers without a production facility in the USA are excluded from the subsidies – and complain.

This Friday, the US Treasury Department, which implements the IRA, wants to publish the last open rules for the e-car incentives. Biden will probably accommodate the EU in part, but not fully. There is a threat of strict “Made in America” ​​requirements in battery production.

To settle the dispute, Washington and Brussels are working on a transatlantic raw materials partnership. The goal is a new supply chain network for critical raw materials, minerals and rare earths in battery production. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently visited Biden in the White House. So far there is no contract, only a letter of intent.

Ursula von der Leyen and Joe Biden

The EU repeatedly criticizes what it sees as protectionist tendencies in the USA with its IRA.

(Photo: UPI/laif)

For the Democratic US Senator Joe Manchin, known for his extremely uncompromising line, the concessions to the EU already go too far. “If necessary, I will sue the Treasury Department,” he said on Thursday. The Democrat fears that if there are too many exceptions, Chinese raw materials will continue to find their way into the US instead of from domestic sources.

Because of the narrow majorities in the US Senate, Biden can hardly afford to alienate members of his party. Manchin has already blocked two key Biden appointments in the Senate in protest at talks with the EU. Thursday’s summary of successes is therefore also to be understood as a signal to Biden’s inner-party critics.

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