Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-16)

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Bloomberg Businessweek November 16, 2020

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jump-startaidfortheindustry’s

transition to electric vehicles

Green Cars Won on

Election Day Too

Although President Obama threw a lifeline to

U.S. automakers after the financial crisis, many in

the industry were unhappy that his administra-

tion also was responsible for fuel economy rules

that pushed carmakers to their limits. But the

inauguration of former Vice President Joe Biden,

who worked hand in hand with Obama to set the

tough regulations, will be a welcome event for the

industry. That’s because Biden will bring some-

thing that manufacturers from Volkswagen to

electricvehicles.

Majorautomakersandstartupsalikewillcollec-

tivelyspend$230billion before the end of Biden’s

first term to bring dozens of EVs to market, accord-

ing to Alix Partners. That’s risky, because sales of

these clean, plug-in vehicles make up less than 2%

of the U.S. market, and most of those are made

by Tesla Inc. President Trump has let a tax credit

program for EVs fade and did little to build out a

charging network, relying instead on the largesse

of states to promote clean cars.

“For the companies going big into EVs, Biden’s

plan will help a lot,” says Tony Posawatz, who led

development of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid

a decade ago and sits on the board of EV startup

Edited by

James E. Ellis

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electric vehicles

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