For Immediate Release:
Oct. 20, 2021
Contacts:
- Julie Sutor, Director of Communications, Electrification Coalition, jsutor@electrificationcoalition.org, 970-409-9461
- Noah Barnes, Director of Communications, Plug In America, nbarnes@pluginamerica.org, 323-333-8010
- Pita Juárez, Communications Director, Chispa, pjuarez@lcv.org, 602-413-4421
EV Advocates, Manufacturers Convene at U.S. DOT to Showcase Future of American Mobility
The expanding availability of electric cars, trucks, buses and fast-charging equipment highlights the immense potential to transition the U.S. transportation sector to electric
WASHINGTON, D.C. – EV advocates and manufacturers gathered at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters Wednesday to showcase the latest in electric vehicles and charging equipment. A major bipartisan infrastructure bill, now being considered in Congress, would make significant investments in transportation electrification and accelerate the transition to zero-emission transportation while creating good-paying jobs.
“In the president’s historic bipartisan infrastructure legislation making its way through Congress right now, we have an opportunity to modernize our infrastructure and reduce emissions and pollution in our system, including building out a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who toured the vehicles and charging equipment with National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy. “When you see the vehicles around us, you want to drive them.”
“One of the key pieces of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda is supercharging America’s ability to get more EVs on the road, to make them affordable for families and for businesses and to install charging stations all across the country so that people know they can get where they want to go and back again,” McCarthy said.
The event, organized by Chispa, the Electrification Coalition and Plug In America, featured offerings from leading manufacturers, with 18 different vehicle models from mopeds to refuse haulers, and a variety of charging equipment. The event comes on the heels of National Drive Electric Week, which demonstrated growing demand for EVs in communities across the country.
“Our transportation system’s overwhelming dependence on oil creates serious risks for our national security, economic prosperity, climate and public health,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the Electrification Coalition. “Electric vehicles are our best solution, and federal policymakers play a crucial role in helping us realize this transition. As manufacturers showed today, the vehicles and charging equipment have arrived, and this is the best mobility technology available. We now urgently need policymakers to accelerate the market by taking action through strong funding and incentives. The United States’ future leadership in the automotive industry is at stake.”
Medium- and heavy-duty EVs featured at the event included the Arrival Van, FedEx BrightDrop EV600 delivery truck, Lightning Electric Transit passenger van, LionC electric school bus, Mack LR Electric refuse truck, Proterra ZX5+ transit bus, Roush CleanTech Ford F-650 and Volvo Trucks VNR Electric Class 8 tractor. Featured light-duty EVs included the Audi e-tron GT, Audi e-tron Sportback, Audi Q4 e-tron, Ford E-Transit, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Revel Rideshare NIU moped, Revel Rideshare Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model S, Zero DSRP Motorcycle and Zero FXP motorcycle. Attendees explored charging equipment from ABB, ADS-TEC, EVgo, Momentum Dynamics and Nuvve and batteries from Lyten.
“Electrifying our transportation system is critical to protecting the health of our communities and combating climate change,” said Johana Vicente, National Senior Director of Chispa. “Black, Indigenous and Latinx children bear an unfair share of the burden of transportation pollution, so let’s prioritize their health by getting electric transit buses and school buses on the road. We can start to build a more just and equitable clean energy future that invests in the health and sustainability of our communities.”
Attendees explored vehicles and charging equipment, and representatives from EV advocacy organizations and manufacturers were on hand to discuss EV technology, future models, manufacturing, model availability, vehicle performance, and vehicle applications, as well as the importance of robust federal funding for transportation electrification. Members of Congress are considering a number of such proposals in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better Act.
“Transitioning to electric vehicles will not only help the United States mitigate the devastating effects of climate change, but it will also have a positive effect on our nation’s economy through the creation of good jobs and clean, domestic energy,” said Joel Levin, executive director of Plug In America. “At this time, we need members of Congress from both parties to recognize the tremendous benefits that electric vehicles have for consumers, our nation, and our planet.”
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“Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks North America and the entire Volvo Group are committed to 100 percent fossil-free sales by 2040 through the launch of zero-emission machines and vehicles, like the Mack LR Electric refuse truck and the Volvo VNR Electric. Ensuring the proper infrastructure, grants and incentives are created will help drive the adoption of heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles for a more sustainable future.”
Jonathan Miller, Volvo Group North America
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs
“Proterra knows that electrifying commercial vehicles is essential to making our air cleaner to breathe and reducing emissions that are harming the climate. Our industry-leading electric transit buses and battery systems are driving this transformation while creating good-paying jobs and supporting small businesses throughout the supply chain in more than 30 states. Proterra supports federal investment in heavy-duty electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, which has played a meaningful role in the adoption of these technologies and further represents an opportunity to bring the next wave of innovation and job creation to the United States.”
Jack Allen, Proterra
CEO
“We are proud to be part of the ecosystem helping to electrify transportation in a smart, sustainable way. By using technology like our vehicle-to-grid (V2G) platform to intelligently introduce electric vehicles to the grid, we can create new value for electric vehicle owners, integrate renewable energy in a more reliable way, and create a more resilient grid. With intelligent electrification, more students, communities and cities benefit from cleaner rides, energy equity and a healthier environment.”
Gregory Poilasne, Nuvve Holding Corp
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO
“Our company sees great opportunity in EVs, as evidenced by our construction of a 55,000-square-foot battery facility in San Jose, Calif., which will create 250 jobs. We look forward to delivering environmentally responsible, American-made batteries that will accelerate consumer adoption of EVs.”
Dan Cook, Lyten
CEO
“Today is a great opportunity to be here in Washington to demonstrate to policymakers firsthand the zero emission vehicles that are on the road and cleaning up the air in our communities and for our students today, which we have been deploying throughout the country since 2016. We ask members of Congress to continue to commit to important funding programs to electrify school transportation and create healthier environments for our kids, which will pay dividends for generations to come.”
Nate Baguio, Lion Electric
Senior Vice President, Commercial Development
“There are over 30 million commercial buses and trucks on the road today, which produce 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. Any solution to the climate crisis must include the deployment of zero emission vehicles. Not in 2025. Not in 2040 – now. The technology is viable, and the total cost of ownership has reached the tipping point. Now is the time to electrify fleets and benefit from improved air quality, public health and cost savings.”
Nick Bettis, Lightning eMotors
Director, Marketing and Sales Operations
“Fleet electrification is one of the keys to the FedEx goal of reaching carbon neutral operations globally by 2040, and we are encouraged to see policymakers bring commercial fleets and their EV infrastructure needs into the electrification conversation. Though FedEx has long been an advocate of greater energy security and sustainable operations, the market is now meeting the moment and enabling us to start scaling an electrification strategy globally for the FedEx pickup and delivery fleet.”
Russ Musgrove, FedEx Express
Managing Director of Global Vehicles
“We believe in an all-electric future and know it’s going to take electrifying commercial vehicles to get there. Our industry is undergoing a much needed transformation as delivery companies look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on urban congestion, all while the demand for e-commerce soars. We’re committed to helping the companies that power sustainable e-commerce solutions grow.”
Steve Hornyak, BrightDrop
Chief Revenue Officer
“ADS-TEC Energy is excited about the opportunity to help expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States, including in cities and rural regions. We look forward to working with the Electrification Coalition, Plug In America and Chispa to accelerate the intelligent transition to electric mobility.”
Thomas Speidel, ADS-TEC Energy
CEO and Founder
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About Chispa: Chispa is a community organizing program that is run by League of Conservation Voters. It focuses on building the leadership of Latino families to influence policymakers and local leaders to take action on climate change.
About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes policies and actions to facilitate widespread deployment and adoption of electric vehicles to overcome the economic, public health, and national security challenges that stem from America’s dependence on oil. For more information, visit electrificationcoalition.org.
About Plug In America: Plug In America is a nonprofit, supporter-driven advocacy group – the voice of plug-in vehicle drivers across the country. Its mission is to drive change to accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
