Not surprisingly, the industry is looking for handouts and subsidies, many of them unspecified at this time. “Federal and state governments – and all stakeholders – will need to provide significant support for consumers, infrastructure and innovation,” said Alliance for Automotive Innovation President and CEO John Bozzella. “The auto industry has stepped up – investments in electrification globally will exceed $330 billion by 2025. But all levels of government will need to do their part for this challenge to succeed.”

Here’s a preview: “This represents a dramatic shift from the U.S. market today that can be achieved only with the timely deployment of the full suite of electrification policies committed to by the Administration in the Build Back Better Plan, including purchase incentives, a comprehensive charging network of sufficient density to support the millions of vehicles these targets represent, investments in R&D, and incentives to expand the electric vehicle manufacturing and supply chains in the United States,” said a joint statement from Ford, GM, and Stellantis.

This puts the Republicans in a tough spot. Helping Big Business – in effect tax cuts for the rich – is their highly selective policy. But creating middle class jobs while acknowledging Global Warming and setting policy that benefits all of “we the people” is counter to their failed attempts at governing for the selective few.