Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg got into a heated confrontation with the Republican congressman over the Biden administration’s attempt to boost electric vehicles.
In 2021, the president signed an executive order setting a goal for electric vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles to account for half of new cars and trucks sold by 2030.
Biden also allocated $5 billion to build fast chargers along major interstates, called the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI program.
The news comes on the same day that a survey shows that thousands of electric vehicle owners have expressed regret over their car purchase.
Buttigieg spoke on the House floor Thursday and clashed with Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry over the program, calling it “dictatorial.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has clashed with the Republican congressman over the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles.
Buttigieg spoke on the House floor Thursday and clashed with Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry over the program, calling it “dictatorial.”
Perry insisted that Biden’s electric vehicle programs are not working, that electric vehicle sales are falling, and demanded that the administration “let the market decide” whether classic gas cars or electric vehicles are successful.
Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate, attempted to debunk what he believed were lies by Perry before Congress.
“Since time is limited, I will limit myself to addressing the factually incorrect parts of what you have said, starting with the claim that these sales are declining, they are actually increasing,” he said sarcastically.
Buttigieg said that while electric vehicles make up 10 percent of the market, sales will reach 1.2 million in 2023.
Perry then challenged Buttigieg on how many of these sales came from the government or private entities.
“We’ll give you that breakdown, but as you know, more citizens are buying electric vehicles than government purchases,” Buttigieg said.
“No, I don’t know. I don’t think that’s true,” Perry responded.
Perry angered Buttigieg by claiming that sales are plummeting and that everything being sold is being subsidized by the government.
In 2021, the president signed an executive order outlining a goal for electric and other zero-emission vehicles to account for half of new cars and trucks sold by 2030.
Biden also allocated $5 billion to build fast chargers along major interstates, called the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI program.
“The word ‘tailspin’ is an odd one to refer to a growing sector of our economy,” he told Perry.
Perry then took another tack, saying he’s “not happy with the mandate” and saying Americans “should be able to buy whatever vehicle they want.”
“There is no mandate,” Buttigieg said.
‘You can buy a petrol car if you want to pay the price of petrol at the petrol station, but if you don’t want to, you can buy an electric vehicle with our help.’
The 50 percent target is nonbinding and mostly symbolic, but it sets the expectation for American automakers to begin the transition from building gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.
The percentage improvements in emissions and fuel economy that Biden’s new rules will require were not immediately clear.
A White House fact sheet indicated that the administration will leave Trump’s standards for miles per gallon in place through the 2024 vehicle model year and for greenhouse gas emissions through the 2023 model year.
The strategy is part of Biden’s plan to fight climate change. The White House said the order puts the country on track to meet Biden’s goal of “reducing economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.” “.
A presentation published in June 2024 by McKinsey & Company indicated that 46 percent of electric vehicle owners in the US are “very” likely to return to gasoline-powered vehicles.
Australia was the only place with a higher percentage of EV owners looking to switch back to gas-powered cars than the United States.
However, it is questionable whether the market really wants these vehicles, and many buyers regret it.
A pulse on the consumer from McKinsey Mobility presentation A report released in June 2024 by McKinsey & Company indicated that 46 percent of US EV owners are “very” likely to switch back to gasoline-powered vehicles.
The data is based on responses from nearly 37,000 respondents who own electric vehicles, but it was the U.S. results that surprised the company that conducted the study.
The United States ranked second among the nine countries in the study to have the most EV users looking to return to EV use, with the main reason being a low approval rating for electric car charging infrastructure.
A total of 35 percent of respondents worldwide said they would like to return to using gasoline-powered vehicles because charging stations are “still” not good enough.
Additionally, 34 percent of respondents expressed concerns about the high total cost of ownership, while another 32 percent expressed concerns about frequent charging stops during long-distance travel.
Other reasons EV owners said they wanted to get rid of their cars included the inability to charge the vehicle at home, the stress that comes with needing to charge the car, mobility switching requirements, and their overall mediocre experience when driving an EV.