Biden officials get behind the wheel of new electric vehicles

Two top Biden administration officials got behind the wheel of new electric vehicles EV Wednesday at the Washington, D.C. auto show to urge Americans to buy a zero emission model.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi took spins in a Ford F-150 Lightning and a Chevrolet Bolt as they promised to revamp $7,500 EV tax credits and new $4,000 second-hand EV credits.

The pair sat and walked around other EVs produced by Toyota Nissan, Subaru, Hyundai and others.

They also highlighted that companies have announced nearly $130 billion in US EV investment, including $56 billion in EV manufacturing and $72 billion in battery production since President Joe Biden took office.

Granholm told Reuters that all of these companies are locating now in the United States. It's electric vehicles, it's the guts of the electric vehicle, it's the guts of the battery -- the whole supply chain is now locating in the United States. Zaidi said hundreds of school districts are using federal funds to help buy EV school buses and the Postal Service has ramped up EV delivery vehicle purchases.

More and more parts of the economy are going to align around this ambition, according to Zaidi.

Congress approved billions of dollars in new incentives, low-cost loans and other funding for EV production and $5 billion for charging stations.

The administration has been criticised by some automakers and foreign governments for restricting credits to North American-made EVs and imposing new battery sourcing rules.

Some consumers are still confused about whether they will qualify for EV credits.

President Joe Biden has set a goal of 50% of U.S. auto production by 2030 to be electric or plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, but he has not joined California and others in calling for phasing out the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035.