Joe Biden has heaped praise on Detroit’s Big Three automakers, especially GM, for taking the lead in electric vehicles.
Detroit:
US President Joe Biden climbed behind the wheel of an electric Hummer SUV on Wednesday and sped up with a squeal of tires, during a test drive to tout billions of dollars in electric vehicle investment. .
“Does anyone want to dance in the back, or on the roof?” Biden asked reporters after walking around the General Motors plant. “These bloodsuckers are something else!”
The test drive at General Motors Co’s electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, the largest city in Michigan, was part of the White House’s nationwide tour to promote the $1,000 infrastructure bill. billion dollars that Biden, a Democrat, signed into law Monday.
The law provides $7.5 billion in funding to build the nation’s electric vehicle charging network, investments that the industry says will inspire more Americans to buy electric vehicles and manufacturers produce them. Electric vehicle sales accounted for just 1.8% of the US new-vehicle market in 2020.
In Detroit, Biden commended Detroit’s Big Three automakers, GM in particular, for taking the lead in electric vehicles.
“In the auto industry, Detroit leads the world in electric vehicles,” Biden said. He did not mention Tesla Inc, the US automaker that accounts for nearly 80% of US electric vehicle sales but is not a union.
“You know, so far, China is leading in this race,” Biden said of electric vehicle manufacturing. “That’s about to change” because of the infrastructure law, he said.
Biden’s approval rating has dropped as inflation rises and Democrats are pushing the bipartisan bill as proof the party can work in a divided America. Michigan is an important political battleground state in the US elections.
NEXT, THOUSANDS of TAX CREDIT
Biden also touted the $2 trillion social safety net spending plan being debated in Washington.
The bill is a mainstay of Biden’s domestic agenda but progressive and moderate lawmakers in his party have yet to agree on what exactly should be in it.
On Wednesday, Biden stressed the “Build Back Better” bill would be paid for by raising taxes on corporations, turning to GM CEO Mary Barra to make his point that companies Big companies don’t have to pay as much as they should.
“Guess what? They don’t pay enough,” Biden said. “Sorry Mary.”
As Americans worry about inflation and the prospect of holiday shortages, Biden said he’s been assured by Wal-Mart and Target executives that they’ll have plenty of items to buy despite the troubles. supply chain tangles.
“Their inventory has grown and they’ll have all the toys, food and other items shoppers are looking for during the holiday season. It’s going to happen,” he said.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
