President Biden visits Ford’s Rouge EV Center

US President Biden visited the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn on Tuesday, where the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of Ford’s iconic and best-selling F-150 truck, will be built by UAW workers in a new $700 million facility. 

The $174 billion (Rs 1,287,774 crore) investment in the electric vehicle economy included in the American Jobs Plan shows that the Biden administration is intent on electrifying cars, transit buses, school buses, the federal fleet (including the U.S. postal fleet), and ports.

The all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning, which goes on sale in mid-2022, will be officially revealed today.

In response to President Biden’s visit, Katherine Garcia, Acting Director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, and Gail Philbin, Director of Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter, released the following statement: ““President Biden is elevating what the transition to electric vehicles must look like for our nation, a transition that prioritises manufacturing here at home and benefits union auto workers.

“The Biden administration has made it clear that cleaning up transportation, America’s most polluting sector, is a top priority in its infrastructure plan. We need significant federal incentives and bold vehicle standards to build a globally competitive auto industry that delivers the electric vehicles urgently needed to meet our health and climate imperatives.

“The Ford Rouge EV Center - where union workers will build an electric pick-up truck - is a tangible example of building back better in action. Ford should also move at lightning speed to seize the EV market for U.S. manufacturing and set a target to shift their production to all electric vehicles.”

The Sierra Club is an influential, 3.8-million-member grassroots environmental organisation in the United States.