Manufacturers and advocates of electric vehicles gathered at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s headquarters in Washington Wednesday to showcase the latest electric vehicles and charging equipment.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, currently being considered by Congress, would invest 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.”
Organized by Chispa, the Electrification Coalition, and Plug In America, the event featured products from leading manufacturers, including 18 different vehicle models from mopeds to refuse haulers and a variety of charging equipment. The event was preceded by National Drive Electric Week, which demonstrated the country’s growing demand for EVs.
The event featured medium- and heavy-duty EVs including the Arrival Van, the FedEx BrightDrop EV600 delivery truck, the Lightning Electric Transit passenger van, the LionC electric school bus, the Mack LR Electric refuse truck, the Proterra ZX5+ transit bus, the Roush CleanTech Ford F-650 and the Volvo Trucks VNR Electric Class 8 tractor. The event also showcased light-duty EVs like Audi’s e-tron GT, e-tron Sportback, and Q4 e-tron; Ford’s E-Transit, and Mustang Mach-E, and Revel’s Rideshare NIU moped, among others. Attendees at the event also got to see new charging equipment from ABB, ADS-TEC, EVgo, Momentum Dynamics, and Nuvve, as well as batteries from Lyten.
“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.”