Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has proposed a sweeping $454 billion plan over 10 years that he believes can shift the U.S. away from petrol-powered vehicles to EVs.
In a statement outlining the plan, Schumer revealed that his strategy would provide rebates of $3000 or more to individual buyers of EVs. This would consist of $392 billion in subsidies awarded to owners of petrol vehicles at least eight years old and in driving condition, to trade them in for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, or fuel-cell cars. The old petrol cars would be scrapped, Reuters reports.
Rebates would range from $3000 to $5000 or more plus another $2000 for low-income buyers for the purchase of U.S.-made vehicles. Schumer believes these rebates could transition 25 per cent of the U.S. vehicle fleet, about 63 million vehicles, away from ICE powertrains within a decade.
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This plan would “reduce the number of carbon-emitting cars on the road, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and accelerate the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century,” Schumer said.
Under Schumer’s plan, $45 billion in funding would be allocated to additional EV charging stations across the country, as well as $17 billion in incentives to encourage automakers to build new factories and retool existing ones to assemble zero-emissions vehicles or charging equipment.
United Auto Workers president Gary Jones threw his support behind the proposal, saying it “honors the sweat and sacrifice of American autoworkers by investing in domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and incentivizing high-quality jobs across the auto supply chain.”
This proposal comes as Democrats and Republics look to win the support of auto workers in important Midwestern swing states prior to the November 2020 elections.
