Last week’s election will bring major changes to the federal government, with Republicans taking control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. Throughout this transition, the Electrification Coalition (EC) will maintain and accelerate the electrification transition’s momentum because transportation electrification is an economic and national security issue that transcends party lines. We are ready to work with outgoing and incoming administrations to create, institute, and implement the policies and actions needed to guide the United States’ transportation sector through the pivotal next four years.
The next four years are so important because electrification has moved past the question of if to the question of when. Our ability to maintain robust policy support for the emerging market will greatly impact the United States’ economic and national security landscapes for decades. Despite the existing partisan divide on the value of such supportive policies, we are confident that EVs’ importance to national security, U.S. automotive competitiveness, job creation, and economic growth (particularly in red and purple states) will transcend partisan politics with the right messengers and messages.
Planning for the road ahead can be thought of in two phases—before January 20 and after.
Before January 20:
- Prioritize distributing BIL and IRA funds allocated for transportation electrification: Any unallocated dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could be held back under the incoming administration. We will ensure that all federal electrification funds that can be allocated prior to January 20 are. This includes finalizing agreements currently in the contracting process.
- Focus on policies that overlap with the incoming administration’s agenda: By finding areas of overlapping interest, we can engage with the incoming administration early and often, opening an ongoing dialogue and securing a seat at the table for future discussions.
After January 20:
- Tell the right message: We must align the case for electrification with the priorities of those with the power to implement it. The messages and framing most likely to build support in Washington for the next four years include:
- Global competitiveness: A robust automotive sector is essential to a strong American economy. To compete globally, we must produce cars the rest of the world will prioritize. Thankfully, we know which cars those will be. In the past decade, global light-duty plug-in vehicle sales have skyrocketed from less than a third of a percent of new sales to nearly 20 percent of the global auto market. The market’s direction is clear, so building a robust and globally competitive American EV industry must be a national priority.
- Economic strength and security: Policy support for transportation electrification is spurring over $200 billion in private-sector investments and bringing more than 200,000 well-paying jobs to the United States, including skilled and unskilled manufacturing positions, positions in mineral mining and processing, and positions requiring a degree.
- National security: Diversifying the transportation system’s fuel sources through electrification reduces the threats posed to American national security by oil’s monopoly on transportation.
- Individual benefits: EVs are simply better than gas-powered cars. They cost less to fuel and operate, require less time and money to maintain, and are quieter, more powerful, and more fun to drive. As costs continue to fall and more people can experience EVs themselves, adoption will rise on its own merits.
- Defend progress: China has an early lead in EV production and supply chains, and only with policy support to level the playing field can the U.S. remain competitive globally. The BIL and IRA have led to a surge in U.S. EV manufacturing, but retreating on these commitments will lead to uncertainty. Maintaining our commitment to electrification will result in billions of dollars of domestic investments, positioning the U.S. automotive industry well to expand globally. We must defend the emissions standards, manufacturing incentives, grant programs, and other policies supporting the American EV industry.
- Find favorable battlegrounds: While securing significant federal legislation to support transportation electrification may be challenging for the next four years, we will find other avenues to expand the market and continue progress. State and local governments have a massive role in this transition, and for the next four years, we must lean into the possibilities for action at these levels. Though limited in official geographic scope, local- and state-level action will have a ripple effect on the broader market, affecting change across political borders and accelerating the transition everywhere.
- Fight misinformation and disinformation: Though already widespread in the EV ecosystem, the amount of misinformation and disinformation about EVs is likely to grow in the coming years. As experts, we must prebut and rebut such claims (whether they are being spread intentionally or not) with accurate and understandable information about EVs and their related technologies. Securing support for our policy agenda depends on policymakers understanding all the benefits of EVs—not just the often-mentioned climate ones.
If we succeed in shifting the partisan EV narrative by showing the technology’s benefits, heightening the importance of securing a strong position in the global automotive market, and highlighting the positive impacts that this industrial policy is having (particularly in red and purple states), we can maintain and even accelerate the electrification transition’s momentum.