The Biden Administration Talks To 'Auto Trends' About The Latest Electric Vehicle Incentives Targeting Minorities And Low Income Car Buyers

DOE's Michael Berube (photo credit: DOE)

On August 16, 2022, under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden Administration announced the most drastic change to transform the auto industry, since Henry Ford revolutionized the development of mass produced cars. This new legislation will help to usher in, as well as aid the country transition toward purchasing both new and used electric vehicles, making them more affordable. 

The Inflation Reduction Act will also aid California Air Resource Board (CARB) drive, no pun intended, to ban the sale of all-new gasoline powered cars in their state by 2035. California announced this initiative in September 2020. The state has always been the forerunner in the United States, as it relates to auto emission controls and helping to keep the environment green. Other states are expected to follow suit, eliminating the ban of new gasoline powered vehicles too.

With that being the case, unlike the previous federal electric vehicle incentive program, which were a free for all, but with volume restrictions per automaker, the Inflation Reduction Act is designed to aid both minority and low income communities purchase electric vehicles. As a result of the average transaction price for a new BEV, battery electric vehicle, being approximately $65,000, the newly revised federal electric incentive program will drastically drive down the price of today's electric vehicles, while also enticing the auto industry to move more of their automotive electrification manufacturing facilities to North America. Thus, this in turn will create more living wage jobs for Americans to buy electric vehicles. This is literally the same philosophy Ford Motor Company followed decades ago, as they raised wages, making mass produced automobiles accessible to everyone.

To get the latest details on the income and price qualifiers needed to receive aid from the government, as well as the new electric vehicle website launched by the White House, Michael Berube, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation with the Department of Energy, joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com for a one-one-one conversation.

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