Commentary
This is the continuing story of how CEOs of our automobile companies took President Biden for his word when he told them he would have their backs, providing subsidies to produce electric vehicles if they would transform their factories to build them, and a nationwide network of charging stations to support them.
In my opinion, the CEOs should have attempted to convince Biden that the transition to electric vehicles from combustion engine models was a long-term experiment, however, Ford, GM and Stellantis, each wanting to be the recognized leader in the EV market, quickly moved to transition manufacturing to electric, resulting in overstocked dealers.
Now they’re slashing production amid the flagging demand.
An opinion piece by the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal on Friday: “The EV Backlash Builds: Companies cut output amid flagging demand. Could it be the product,” caught my eye.
“The Biden Administration keeps throwing around billions in subsidies for electric vehicles, and the press corps keeps hailing them, but consumers don’t seem to want them. The evidence is building that this green industrial policy is a bust.”
Then There’s the Charger Problem
While perusing the Arizona Republic, the headline, ”Mesa is among leaders in EV use and plans more charging ports,” stirred my curiosity. Mesa? I thought. Really?
After the story’s lead, stating “Mesa’s goal of becoming an electric-vehicle-friendly city got a boost with a chunk of federal funding,” I learned that a mere 3,200 of Mesa’s 500,000 residents drive EV’s.
To be fair, however, Mesa is part of a vast metropolitan area that includes Phoenix and several other suburbs where some 40,000 Arizonans drive EVs.
“Mesa and Arizona are adopting EVs faster than most of the U.S., and this investment in our city’s charging network will have a measurable impact,” said Mayor John Giles.
That’s hard to swallow when we are told that the city has just 49 charging stations with 118 ports. Further, the $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will enable the city to add just 48 new ports.
In a “Duh” statement by Ian Linssen, an assistant to the city manager, it was noted that “The goal is to make stations available in areas where residents spend a lot of time shopping or dining.”
To accommodate charging in the heat of summer, the city plans to include shade cover in the design, possibly adding solar panels to the canopies.
In addition to providing 20 percent of matching funds for the project, the city is looking for help from the private sector to help in the funding.
That could cause problems in that in other states agencies and charging companies have reported difficulties in meeting a complex set of contracting requirements and minimum operating standards for federally funded chargers.
It explains why we learned last month that a single charger had yet to be installed in the $7.5 billion legislation the Biden administration signed two years ago to provide grants for 500,000 chargers.
Now, Mesa is required to earmark the funding by 2026 and spend the money by 2031.
In addition, the city is developing a community-wide EV adoption master plan, part of its climate action plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Something to ponder: To my knowledge, the federal government has never provided funds to build a gas station.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
