Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Spending: A Promising Opportunity to Improve America
It is not surprising that a man who increased his inherited fortune by building giant buildings would aim to turn us into a country of builders now that he has been elected president. From the very first primary debate months ago, Trump has stood out from his Republican competitors (and the Republicans who were elected to Congress) in saying that infrastructure spending needed to be increased manifold. We will have to see whether his proposal to spend $1 trillion on roads, airports, pipelines, and the electrical grid will find proper funding (a big if given his plan [1]) and whether it will harness new and green technologies. Part of these funds should be invested in creating and improving an electrical vehicle grid, as outlined by the government in early November.
The Obama administration’s forward-thinking plan involves improving electric car charging infrastructure over 25,000 miles in 35 states. Electric car adoption is hindered in part because a lack of infrastructure makes people wary of being first adopters of the technology as it is impractical for long distances without reliable charging stations. An improved grid would allay some of those fears to stimulate demand and revitalize the manufacturing sector as they work to fill it.
Of course, whether the new administration will continue or reject this promise is now up in the air. There is definite cause to be worried as we are dealing with a person who famously referred to climate change as a hoax made up by China to impede American manufacturing.
However, Trump’s great boogeyman is taking global warming seriously and is doing so to the benefit of their manufacturing sector. The Chinese government has been supporting their electric car industry by building infrastructure with plans to build 12,000 electric car charging stations by the year 2020. Chinese car company BYD has been positioning itself as a top seller of electric vehicles, outpacing American-owned Tesla, with profits increasing by 522% in 2015 and half of those profits coming from electric vehicles. Sales of electric vehicles in China are increasing exponentially in part because of the government’s commitment to these technologies through tax subsidies and infrastructure building. Electric vehicles are a growth industry of which a great America should take advantage.
[1] Morris, David Z. Trump’s Surprising Transportation Policies. http://fortune.com/2016/11/12/trump-transportation-priorities/
[2] Glinton, Sonari. Administration Gives Electric Car Charging Grid A Boost. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/03/500604497/administration-gives-electric-car-charging-grid-a-boost
[3] Langfitt, Frank. What’s Driving The Electric Car Trend In China? http://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459637364/what-s-driving-the-electric-car-trend-in-china
[4] BYD Auto. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Auto
