Moneycontrol
HomeNewsAutomobileJoe Biden’s Push for Electric Cars: $174 Billion, 10 Years and a Bit of Luck
Trending Topics

Joe Biden’s Push for Electric Cars: $174 Billion, 10 Years and a Bit of Luck

The $2 trillion infrastructure plan that he unveiled Wednesday is aimed at tackling climate change in part by spending up to $174 billion to encourage Americans to switch to cars and trucks that run on electricity, not gasoline or diesel. That is a large investment, but it might not be enough to push most Americans toward EVs.

April 01, 2021 / 17:29 IST
Story continues below Advertisement
An electric vehicle at a charging station at Soleil Lofts, a solar-powered apartment complex in Herriman, Utah, Feb. 21, 2021. President Joe Biden is hoping to make electric vehicles more affordable to turn a niche product into one with mass appeal. (PC-Lindsay D'Addato/The New York Times)

President Joe Biden is a muscle-car guy; one of his most prized possessions is a 1967 Corvette that he got from his father. But he is trying to make this an electric vehicle world.

The $2 trillion infrastructure plan that he unveiled Wednesday is aimed at tackling climate change in part by spending up to $174 billion to encourage Americans to switch to cars and trucks that run on electricity, not gasoline or diesel. That is a large investment, but it might not be enough to push most Americans toward EVs.

Story continues below Advertisement

Despite rapid growth in recent years, electric vehicles remain a niche product, making up just 2% of the new car market and 1% of all cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and pickup trucks on the road. They have been slow to take off in large part because they can cost up to $10,000 more than similar conventional cars and trucks. Charging EVs is also more difficult and slower than simply refilling the tank at far more prevalent gas stations.

Volkswagen to buy credits from Tesla in China to comply with environmental rules