On Tuesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) stated that Ford backing off on electric vehicles doesn’t mean we should rethink the EV push; in fact, “quite the opposite.”
Host Blake Burman asked: “There was this push, EV, EV, EV, EV, for over a decade, largely from Democrats and people aligned with green energy. Is it time to rethink this, given what we just heard from Ford saying, well, wait a minute, we need to pivot now?”
Stanton responded: “No, quite the opposite. First of all, Elon Musk is not a Democrat. And support for electric vehicles was really widespread. And Congress voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest investment in green, clean energy, including support for the electric vehicle industry, in American history. And Trump joins in and, for political reasons, I guess, decides to take us in the opposite direction. We are in a battle with China on many key issues. [industries]including the electric vehicle industry, and by eliminating the Inflation Reduction Act programs, it has resulted in things like Ford losing these jobs, because, remember, when they make this decision, they are choosing to lose $20 billion, including new factories, to support the electric vehicle industry.”
Burman then asked: “I just heard Ford boss Jim Farley say that the customers have spoken and we are listening. I’m looking at 74,000 new units sold last month. Of course, we know that government subsidies ended at the end of September, leading to a 49% decline in sales month over month, a 30% decline from last year. Isn’t the customer speaking here?”
Stanton responded: “In a way. But, as you know, we had made a decision in Congress to support this industry, through tax credits, to make the price of electric vehicles a little more affordable, and sales of electric vehicles were through the roof. They were going very, very well. And, now, with Trump there, it’s come and gone, back and forth. It’s chaos in the industry. So they probably got exasperated and said no to that. Look, we need to support green energy and clean, including The electric vehicle industry is important for the United States to be a leader in this. We cannot unilaterally disarm, if we want, let China control this market around the world.
Stanton added that investing in electric vehicle chargers is necessary so people can feel safe buying and driving electric vehicles.
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