Tesla and other automakers and environmental groups had requested the Biden administration to invest in charging infrastructure across the United States.
The automakers pointed out the lack of charging stations for heavy-duty vehicles like electric buses and trucks.
Tesla Requests Charging Infrastructures
The automakers want the current administration to allocate at least 10% of the money for electric vehicle charging in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed in November 2021 which includes a $7.5 billion budget, according to The Verge.
The 10% of the money is requested to be invested in infrastructure for medium and heavy-duty vehicles.
Tesla and the other car companies sent a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The letter, which was also signed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Lightning eMotors and Moms Clean Air Force, states that most public electric vehicle charging infrastructure has been created and built with passenger vehicles in mind.
The size and location of spaces reflect an interest in servicing the driving public, but not larger commercial vehicles.
Most vehicles on the road are passenger vehicles. However, medium and heavy-duty vehicles also contribute a disproportionate amount of the smog-causing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that come from the transportation sector.
If that category of vehicles is switched to electric, that could remove a great chunk of emissions and it would have a significant impact on air quality and lessen climate impacts. The United States needs a charging infrastructure to make that goal possible.
The Biden administration has already made truck pollution a priority. The Department of Transportation is funding electric transit buses for both state and local governments.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule requiring new trucks to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 90% by 2031.
Electric Vehicle Sales
According to S&P Global, China maintained the number one spot in the global electric vehicle market by selling 3.3 million EVs in 2021, while the United States ended a two-year slump as the sales of EVs doubled.
The International Energy Agency reported that the worldwide EV sales doubled year over year in 2021 to 6.6 million.
Some 630,000 plug-in battery and hybrid electric cars were sold in the US in 2021, and in Europe, a total of 2.3 million EVs were sold.
In all, there were 16.5 million electric vehicles on the road worldwide in 2021, which is three times more than in 2018. The IEA and many nations are looking to EVs to replace combustion engines to slow climate change.
In the United States, the transportation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for 33% back in 2020.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported separately on May 23 that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities trapped 49% more heat in 2021 than in 1990, the baseline year for the initial Kyoto climate protocol.
So far, EV production and uptake have been dominated by China and Europe. The two regions accounted for 85% of the world's sales in 2021.
In the US, the government spending tripled to $2 billion in 2021, according to Electrek. That is about $3,200 per vehicle, which is more than the $2,300 the government offered in 2020 but less than in 2019.
Related Article: US EV Sales See a Record-Breaking Profit Last Quarter, But Will It Continue to Grow?
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Written by Sophie Webster
