DEARBORN, Mich. — President Joe Biden pitched his $174 billion electric vehicle plan Tuesday at the Ford Motor Co. Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, touring the plant and taking a test-track spin in the company's electric version of the best-selling F-150 pickup truck ahead of its reveal Wednesday evening.
After his time behind the wheel of the F-150 Lightning, the president was asked how it was to drive the battery-electric pickup. "It feels great," Biden said.
"I'll tell you what, these electric vehicles, now I don't know if anyone has a stop watch but these vehicles can go from 0 to 60 in ... 4.4 seconds," the president said.
Biden alluded to his fondness for vehicles as he began his remarks after touring the facility where the electric F-150 will be built.
"My name is Joe Biden, and I'm a car guy," the president said to cheers as he began his remarks.
Biden said the nation is at a "great inflection point" and that "what we do in the next four to 10 years" will determine where the country is 50 years from now.
"Look, the future of the auto industry is electric," he said. "There's no turning back. ... The only question is whether we'll lead the race or fall behind."
Upon arrival at the plant, Biden joined Ford executives and employees — including Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley — and UAW President Rory Gamble on a four-stop tour focusing on several aspects of EVs. Ford engineers talked the president through various aspects of the electric F-150 and its approach to electrification.
Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and International Markets Group, manned one station about Ford's EV-certified dealer network and spoke to the president about the need to build out the country's EV charging network. Employees from Ford's Van Dyke plant in Sterling Heights, which is slated to build motors and transaxles for EVs alongside transmissions for conventional vehicles, also spoke to the president and highlighted some of the products they build.
Galhotra explained Ford's strategy of electrifying its most well-known and popular products, with F-150 being a prime example.
"The charging infrastructure needs to be there as the volume grows," he said, noting Ford's existing charging network but saying that it's "not enough."
Biden pointed to the proposal within his jobs bill to add some 500,000 EV charging stations in the U.S. He mentioned, too, the capability of some electrified vehicles to help power large items including people's homes — and in fact Ford offers an on-board generator on the hybrid version of F-150. He also heard about Ford's research and development on batteries aimed at making them cheaper and lighter.
At the next stop, Biden heard from Ford employees about advanced manufacturing processes, with a robot on display. Ford has billed the Rouge EV center as one of its most technologically advanced in the world; the traditional assembly line will be replaced there with automatic guided carts. Biden asked Ford officials about their plans to offer training programs for employees to help them prepare for the transition to EVs.
Air Force One with the president aboard landed at Detroit Metro Airport shortly before noon. Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, of Dearborn, and Rashida Tlaib, of Detroit, were on hand to greet Biden.
Ahead of the president’s arrival, attendees gathered inside the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, which featured large American flags, a display of EV charging stations, a banner declaring “Go Electric” and new and classic Fords models, including several classic F-150s as well as the Bronco.
Several other Democratic leaders — including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel and U.S. Reps. Dan Kildee, Andy Levin, Haley Stevens, Brenda Lawrence and Elissa Slotkin — greeted Biden at the plant in Dearborn, along with nearly 30 other state and local leaders and union representatives.
The visit came as Congress begins discussions on the president's $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure package, which includes $174 billion to support the growth of U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing. Analysts say it also highlights a project that is a model of what the administration hopes to incentivize: mass market electric vehicles built in the U.S. by union workers.
Biden's sweeping infrastructure proposal aims to build a network of a half million charging stations nationwide; expand and implement new consumer incentives to buy affordable EVs; fund grants for retooling factories; provide tax credits for building EVs, including medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; subsidize research and development of new technology; incentivize building battery and semiconductor factories in the U.S., and more.
The goal is to spark a takeoff of the American electric vehicle market, which now accounts for less than 2% of new car sales, with the eventual aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help reach a goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030 and net-zero economywide by 2050.
Republicans in Congress have expressed hesitation to invest heavily in electric vehicles, which they argue aren't yet supported by market demands or reliable energy infrastructure. Biden noted during his speech that he has had multiple meetings with Republican leaders and that he believes they can reach a bipartisan deal. The White House expects a counterproposal.
"We made one thing clear: We'll compromise, but doing nothing is not an option. The world is not waiting," he said.
The jobs issue was front and center during Biden's visit Tuesday: While the United Auto Workers supports the move to accelerate development of electric vehicles, it has repeatedly raised concerns about its potential impact on jobs. Electric vehicles require fewer parts and less labor to assemble, and new jobs in supporting sectors — such as joint battery ventures, suppliers and EV startups — are much less likely to be unionized.
The president repeatedly assured the audience — which included several members of UAW Local 600, which represents workers at the Rouge Complex — that the jobs of the future will be unionized. Democratic legislation that reflects parts of the president's plan includes provisions that would require prevailing wage be paid for projects that receive loans or grants, or require that projects hire workers locally.
Democratic lawmakers have stressed the importance of those conditions.
"We need to be intentional about making sure that we are keeping the supply chain here in the U.S., that we're going to build batteries here in the United States of America, with good-paying union jobs," Dingell said in comments before Biden's visit.
UAW Local 600, which represents Rouge Complex workers, is one of the union's oldest, she said. "So we're highlighting the work and the talent of UAW workers, of American workers, and we need to be very intentional and intersectional as we look toward the future where we all care about the environment."
Biden has signed an executive order to prioritize review of supply chains, including for electric vehicle batteries and semiconductor chips.
The U.S. makes around 12% of the world's chips and is home to only four lithium-ion battery factories, compared with 93 in China.
Some Republicans in Congress have argued for a more pared-down infrastructure package that would focus on traditional infrastructure and cost up to $800 billion.
Mostly, however, Michigan GOP leaders, including co-chair Meshawn Maddock, used Biden's visit to bash Whitmer's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including placing sick patients in nursing homes and government shutdown orders that have permanently closed many businesses. The party also criticized Whitmer's decision to close the Line 5 fuel line in northern Michigan and demanded she come clean about the details of her March visit to see her father in Florida on a private flight.
"We know President Biden and Gov. Whitmer will portray themselves as champions of the working class when in fact they are anything but," Ted Goodman, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, said ahead of Biden's tour during a news conference outside the Renaissance Center in Detroit. "Gov. Whitmer and President Joe Biden are in the back pocket of environmental extremists and coastal liberals who aren’t interested in helping working families and the people of Michigan. They are interested in a radical climate agenda."
In a statement, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also slammed the president and the governor.
“Joe Biden and Gretchen Whitmer are too busy championing a plan that will be a wrecking ball to Michigan’s economy," she said. "Instead of destroying good paying union jobs, decimating Detroit’s world-class auto industry, and creating a fuel crisis, Whitmer and Biden should pay attention to the crumbling roads around them.”
Biden's trip was his second to Michigan since taking office in January. He visited the Pfizer plant in Portage that manufactures the COVID-19 vaccine. The visit also came around a year after former President Donald Trump visited Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, which was producing ventilators to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
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(Staff writer Breana Noble contributed to this story.)
