Axios
Biden’s plan to replace the government fleet with electric vehicles will not be so easy
President Biden’s plan to replace the government’s fleet of 650,000 cars and trucks with electric vehicles assembled by union workers in the US was easier said than done. Why it matters: the populist “Buy American” message sounds good, but the vehicles Biden wants are still a few years away and his buying criteria require an expensive overhaul of the car manufacturers’ manufacturing strategies, not to mention of reversing the fortune for labor organizers stimulated by Tesla and other non-union companies. Supports safe, smart, sensible journalism. Sign up here for Axios newsletters. Reality check: at present, there is no single model that meets the president’s criteria: battery powered, manufactured in America, by union workers. * Tesla manufactures the vast majority of EVs in the US, and all of its models, according to federal data, contain at least 55% of U.S. parts manufactured. But Tesla does not have a union, and CEO Elon Musk has violated federal labor laws. * General Motors’ Chevrolet Bolt is the only U.S.-built union. But it is mostly made with parts imported from Korea. Only 24% of the content is considered domestic. * The Nissan Leaf, another popular EV, is manufactured in Tennessee. But the factory is unconnected and only 35% of the parts are domestic. ‘Made in America’ itself is confusing, as the current rules for ‘household’ content contain parts made in the US and Canada. * Under the Motor Vehicle Labeling Act, passed in 1992, each car must indicate a label where the car was assembled, the percentage of equipment from the US and Canada combined, and the country where the engine and transmission were built. * The newly concluded trade agreement between America and Mexico-Canada adds another rule layer on the origin of parts. Biden wants to change the whole system to determine if a federal vehicle is ‘American’. * Today, the government requires federal vehicles to manufacture at least 50 percent of their components in America, but loopholes allow the most valuable parts such as engines or steel to be manufactured elsewhere, Biden told reporters Monday. * He wants a higher threshold and stricter rules that will directly benefit American workers. Be smart: it’s all doable, but certainly not within Biden’s four-year tenure. * “It just does not add up,” says Joe Langley, a forecast analyst for IHS Markit. “The product is still a few years away.” The replacement of 650,000 federal vehicles by motor vehicles will require an increase in U.S. investment throughout the supply chain, including electric cars, batteries and vehicles – all of which will take time, Langley said. * Union leaders are pleased that Biden is focused on the future of the industry. “He sees new technology as a way to grow our industry and our economy,” a United Auto Workers spokesman told Axios. Some of these investments are already taking place. GM, for example, is renovating several factories to manufacture electric vehicles in Tennessee and Michigan. Ford will make its upcoming e-Transit van in Missouri. * But GM, Ford and Stellantis (the newly merged FiatChrysler and Peugeot) recently committed to build more EVs at union factories in Canada. * And Ford is increasing production of its highly anticipated Mustang Mach-E in Mexico. What to look for: There could be some surprise winners from Biden’s plan. * A handful of well-funded EV startups like Lordstown Motors, Rivian and Workhorse are developing commercial vehicles like trucks and lorries – things that are often needed in government fleets. * “It could put wind in the sails of many new startups,” Langley said. Be smart: sign up for the most influential newsletter in America for FREE.