Stopping Biden’s Radical Forced EV Transition

(U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee) Americans Should Choose the Car They Drive -- President Biden and Democrats are leading a radical rush-to-green agenda that takes away people’s vehicle choice and forces Americans to drive electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are unaffordable and unrealistic for many Americans and a reliance on EVs cedes U.S. leadership to the Chinese Communist Party.

Americans don’t want President Biden’s aggressive EV mandates—they want to choose what vehicle best suits their needs.

That’s exactly what nearly 5,000 American car dealers told President Biden—twice—after EVs stacked up on their lots. They’re demanding the Biden administration “hit the brakes” on its unrealistic agenda.

Electric vehicles continue to be more expensive than other alternatives and aren’t practical for many Americans—especially those living in rural communities. Furthermore, despite allocating $7.5 billion in 2021 to speed up its forced EV transition, the Biden administration just got its first vehicle charger up and running in Ohio one month ago. Hertz, a major rental car company, recently announced its plan to sell 20,000 electric vehicles and buy gas-powered cars instead.

Additionally, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports, EVs have almost 80 percent more issues and are generally less reliable than vehicles with internal combustion engines. Earlier this month, electric vehicles across the country were failing to charge—or keep a charged battery—as a result of cold weather. Electric vehicles lose an average of 41 percent of their range when temperatures drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. As reported by Fox Business, in Chicago, “charging stations essentially turned into car graveyards as temperatures have dropped.”

This forced EV transition also plays right into China’s hands. China controls the vast majority of critical minerals mining, processing, and manufacturing for electric vehicles. China has 78 percent of the world’s cell manufacturing capacity for EV batteries. To further their grip on EV technology against America, China implemented export controls on graphite, the single largest mineral component of any EV battery, on December 1, 2023. There is currently only one graphite-producing mine in North America.

Policy experts across the board are sounding the alarm on the national security consequences of Biden’s forced EV transition and how it will strengthen China’s foothold in the American auto industry for decades to come. More than a dozen former senior military officials recently warned President Biden that his rush-to-green agenda “will undoubtedly open the U.S. up to economic manipulations by China, identical to what Russia is doing with Ukrainian grain exports, and [poses] a major threat to our national security.”

Senior administration officials, like U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, are also raising concerns about Chinese influence over the electric vehicle market, recently stating in a letter to President Biden that “China has developed and implemented a plan to target the EV sector for dominance.”

Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading to stop the administration’s radical EV agenda, preserve people’s vehicle choice, and ensure America—not China—is leading:

Bottomline: Americans—not the Biden administration—deserve to have the freedom to choose what vehicle suits them best. READ MORE

Excerpt from Green Car Reports: Dealers think the Biden administration's EV policies are forcing the auto industry to move ahead of market demand, according to a new Automotive News survey.

The publication's 2024 Dealer Outlook Survey compiled responses from 208 U.S. car dealers and dealership managers. Nearly 83% of those surveyed said the federal government was pushing too hard on EVs.

Dealers are particularly concerned about proposed EPA emissions rules for model years 2027 to 2032 which that agency has said could lead to up to 67% EV sales, according to Automotive News. The rules haven't been finalized, but that process could be completed as soon as March, the industry journal noted.

Respondents claimed consumer interest in EVs doesn't support this level of industry commitment, with 55% saying "EVs weren't generating customer interest or sales at their stores," according to the report.

Along with concerns about charging infrastructure, some dealers reportedly cited "affordability concerns or a lack of inventory" as reasons for the lack of EV interest. The latter isn't exactly an issue that's inherent to EVs, or one that would likely persist if automakers were forced to make more EVs to meet regulatory targets. The report also quotes a general manager for a Mazda dealer—a brand that doesn't have any EVs in its lineup currently.

Surprisingly, 57% of respondents thought that the new point-of-sale rebate for the federal EV tax credit would have no effect on EV sales, or they were unsure. More than half still haven't registered for the rebate and 22% said they did not plan to register. Dealers pointed to how few vehicles qualify in 2024, due to sourcing rules, as making the tax credit less important for driving EV sales.

Several respondents also voiced the need for more affordable hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. This comes shortly after reported comments from General Motors CEO Mary Barra indicating the automaker would reverse its previous EV-centric policy and add plug-in hybrids to its U.S. lineup.

Previous dealer grumbling at EVs pointed to investments needed to sell them. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said last year that dealers will spend $5.5 billion on EV infrastructure. In the face of costly upgrades, some dealerships have opted to get out of the business entirely—and maybe that's their best option. READ MORE