Where EVs go after the megabill

Politico

6 days ago

Now that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have slammed the door on federal support for electric vehicles, EV advocates face a tough question.
'Where do we go?' said Joel Levin, the executive director of nonprofit Plug In America.
Interest groups could still advance the EV cause, though none have Uncle Sam's unique power to tax and spend. States, cities, electric utilities, private companies and automakers all have their own reasons to want EVs to succeed.
'We're going to be looking for those little openings where we see interest and opportunity,' said Anne Blair, the head of policy for the nonprofit Electrification Coalition.
They may find a blueprint in how climate and clean energy groups responded the first time Trump took office. The federal government's withdrawal from climate goals spurred the creation of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of states that sought to retain the nation's commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as Drive EV Fleets, a collective of local government agencies that promote EVs as fleet vehicles.
Since then, EVs have risen from bit player to a centerpiece of presidential politics — with former President Joe Biden making EV support a key plank of his agenda, and then Trump vowing in last year's election to tear that project down.
'The wind in both directions is much stronger than it was then,' Levin said.
More at stake: With EVs now firmly established, more entities have a stake in the outcome.
The liberal states that kept the EV flame alive during the first Trump administration are reconstituting themselves and could — just maybe — see their ranks grow with states that have significant battery and EV factory investments, such as Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Automakers may also pick up the torch. When Trump last left office, General Motors had exactly one EV model, the Chevy Bolt. The company now has at least nine models and, according to Cox Automotive, has doubled its EV sales in the last year, making it a firm second in the U.S. market behind Tesla.
Furthermore, it is achingly apparent to U.S. automakers that they are going to be squeezed out of global markets if they don't seriously compete with China on EVs.
'That may be what it takes' to get carmakers to supersize EV sales on their home turf, said Albert Gore, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, an EV trade group.
California remains a beacon. After Congress in May killed the state's effort to phase out sales of new gasoline cars by 2035, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered regulators to try again.
In general, this year's stinging losses have persuaded EV advocates they need to expand well beyond the climate argument to persuade Republicans and doubtful consumers that EVs are the future.
'It is just a transportation solution that allows us to get from point A to point B better, cheaper and cleaner,' said Stan Cross, the electric transportation director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. 'It is not a political hot potato.'
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