At Ford Visit, Biden Says Future of Autos Is Electric
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Without mentioning his predecessor’s name, President Joe Biden criticized former President Donald Trump while visiting a Ford Motor Co. plant in Dearborn, Mich., on May 18, saying Trump’s rollback of fuel standards delayed an inevitable move to electric vehicles.
Biden, visiting southeastern Michigan for the first time as president ahead of Ford’s unveiling of its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup on May 19, also said Trump let key tax credits to encourage electric vehicle sales expire and never came through with a much-promised plan to fund improvements to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
“(They) didn’t do a damn thing,” he said of Trump’s administration. “They didn’t get the job done.”
Test Drive
President Biden made an unscheduled stop at the Ford test track to take the all-electric Ford F-150 for a spin a day before its official unveiling. See story.
While president, Trump had moved to reduce or freeze targets to force automakers to increase fuel efficiency, setting off a legal fight with California and other states. With Biden signaling his administration will put gas mileage goals back in place, electric vehicle sales are expected to be a key part of automakers hitting those goals in the future.
Biden also has called for $174 billion to be included in his own infrastructure bill to go toward helping to install some 500,000 charging stations nationwide and encouraging manufacturers and consumers to adopt electric vehicles. That said, some Republicans are wary of the plans and incentives, with electric vehicles so far making up only a small portion of the cars on U.S. highways.
Speaking before Biden, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford called the unveiling of the new F-150 — America’s best-selling vehicle — “a defining moment” in the history of both the company and the U.S. as it battles climate change. “It ushers in a cleaner future for our country,” Ford said.
Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., speaks at the Ford Rouge EV Center in Dearborn, Mich., ahead of President Biden. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
He also told Biden, who introduced himself at the event as “a car guy,” “I promise you it’s going to give your Corvette a run for its money.”
In his 25-minute speech, Biden said it’s not only vital for the U.S. to adopt electric vehicles as a way to cut greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, but to ensure that those vehicles are made in America by union workers. UAW President Rory Gamble was among those speaking ahead of Biden, who has made no bones about his advocacy for union jobs being connected to the fight against climate change.
But Biden noted that much of the battery technology and associated supply chains vital to electric cars is controlled by Chinese companies, a circumstance he said must change, or American manufacturers — and workers — will lose out.
“Right now, China is leading in this race,” he said. “It’s a fact. … We can’t let that be sustained. … They think they’re going to win. Well, I’ve got news for them. They will not win this race. We won’t let them.”
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Ford’s big reveal is scheduled to be livestreamed from the company’s world headquarters in Dearborn at 9:30 p.m. EDT May 19. Biden’s visit was timed to underscore the importance of the new F-150 and push for passage of Biden’s infrastructure bill.
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