Biden touts clean car drive as part of a ‘blue-collar blueprint’ for economy

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President Biden touted his latest executive order in a Thursday press event, saying the push for a clean car overhaul follows the "blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America." 

"I know many of you folks at home…feel left behind in an economy and industry that’s rapidly changing," Biden said. "But we’re going to leave no one behind. Nearly 90 percent of the jobs created in our infrastructure plan do not require a bachelor’s degree."

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The president applauded the leaders of Ford, GM, and Stellantis, along with the head of the United Auto Workers union, for agreeing to try to bolster their sales of electric vehicles by 40 to 50 percent by 2030. 

The administration will also establish incentive programs for not only buying electric vehicles but for buying American and union-made vehicles.  

Biden said his executive order "sets into motion" key aspects of his Build Back Better plan to create a national network of 500,000 charging stations and boost U.S. manufacturing capabilities for American-made products.

The president said the U.S. needs to heavily invest in the production of batteries and semiconductors to prevent future shortages and foreign country reliance that has hampered auto manufacturers. 

"Right now, China’s leading the race," Biden said. "And it’s one of the largest, fastest-growing electric vehicle markets in the world. 

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"Eighty percent of the manufacturing capacity of [electric vehicle] batteries is done in China," he added. 

Biden said U.S. universities and automakers "led" in the technological development of electric batteries.

"There’s no reason why we can’t reclaim that leadership," he said. "But we have to move fast."