Overview
- The 2025 Detroit Auto Show, running through January 20th highlights the future of mobility with its Powering Michigan EV Experience. This unique indoor track allows attendees to test drive the latest electric vehicles, offering a hands-on look at the cutting-edge technology driving the industry’s shift towards electrification.
- Charles Griffith is Climate and Energy Program Director at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center. He says the entire automotive industry is waiting to see what’s next for electric vehicles with a new Trump administration, which has promised to cut EV tax incentives and roll-back EPA regulations. In addition, there have been some recent hiccups in the EV market (e.g., delayed production plans at MI auto plants). But automakers have pushed back about preserving the tax credits, and the pushback has included some political leaders that have seen the EV industry grow in their states.
- Despite concerns about the potential withdrawal of subsidies for support, the Powering Michigan EV Experience has a lot to offer residents of our community who have thought about owning an EV or would like to see what is coming next:
- Interactive EV Test Drives: Experience the thrill of driving the latest electric vehicles on a specially designed indoor track.
- Cutting-Edge Technology Showcase: Explore the newest advancements in EV technology, including state-of-the-art battery systems and innovative charging solutions.
- Diverse EV Models: Get behind the wheel of a wide range of electric vehicles, from compact cars to luxury models, highlighting the versatility of EVs.
- Expert Insights: Learn from industry experts about the benefits of EVs, including sustainability, cost savings, and performance enhancements.
- Hands-On Learning: Engage in interactive demonstrations that explain how EVs work and the future of electric mobility.
- Eco-Friendly Focus: Understand how electric vehicles contribute to reducing carbon emissions and promoting a greener planet.
- Accessibility: Discover how EVs are becoming more accessible to everyday consumers with advancements in infrastructure and affordability.
- Charles points out that despite some market hiccups, EV sales are increasing steadily, especially for two of the MI-based Ford and GM (with newcomer Tesla down slightly). He says that new and more affordable EVs keep coming to the market that provide greater consumer choice.
- At the same time, Michigan is adding new EV charging stations all the time. Notably, in Washtenaw County:
- Washtenaw Community College (WCC): WCC introduced Phase 3 of its EV charging installation, adding new charging stations in parking lots 1, 6, and 7. This expansion includes six new 40-amp chargers in front of the Morris J. Lawrence building (lot 1) and eight Level 2 chargers behind the Crane Liberal Arts and Science Building (lots 6 and 7). The project is expected to be completed by spring 2025. (Source: Washtenaw Voice)
- City of Ypsilanti: Plans were proposed to install four Beam EV ARC solar-powered charging systems at the YPSI, aiming to provide eight additional Level 2 charging stations for public use. This initiative seeks to enhance the availability of solar-powered EV charging options in the area. (Source: MPSC Reeied Grant Proposals)
- City of Ann Arbor: Since 2023, Ann Arbor has installed over 600 kW of solar energy, seven new public EV chargers, and two battery storage systems, contributing to the city's commitment to sustainable transportation. (Source: City of Ann Arbor)
- Having charging stations in more locations (e.g., along highways, at workplaces, shopping centers, and homes) is essential for reducing "range anxiety" many EV buyers fear, making EVs feel as convenient as stopping at a gas station. As EV charging infrastructure expands across Michigan and beyond, local residents can feel more secure that owning an EV can be reliable.
Transcription
David Fair: The Detroit Auto Show is underway and will continue through Monday, January 20th. Now, you may have heard there are some differences this year. I'm David Fair, and welcome to this week's edition of Issues of the Environment on 89 one WEMU. The event is no longer called the Detroit International Auto Show, and car companies have decided against bringing concept cars to the event. But there are also some new things. The Detroit Auto Show this year features test tracks in the venue where you can actually drive electric vehicle cars. And it begs the question: Where are we headed with EVs? The transition so far has advanced, but perhaps not as smoothly as many automakers would like. And on the day the show closes, Donald Trump will return to the White House. He is staunchly opposed to any kind of EV mandate. We thought we'd try and garner some insights on all of this, and we could think of no one better to talk to than Charles Griffith. Charles is climate and energy program director at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center. And nice to talk with you again, Charles!
Charles Griffith: David, it's always great to talk with you! Thanks for having me back!
David Fair: I made some mention of changes at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, and I'm curious if these kinds of changes perhaps are indicative of the changes to come to the auto industry as a whole.
Charles Griffith: Well, that's a good question. I think a lot of things are changing in our world these days, especially with the rise of various digital platforms that have kind of changed the nature of traditional media.
David Fair: Yeah, tell me about it!
Charles Griffith: Yeah. As a person in that industry, I'm sure you are acutely aware, David. But, yes, I understand that many of the auto companies have sort of switched to their own kind of digital announce and reveal kind of events and found that to get perhaps more eyeballs than the sort of more traditional auto show announcements. It is kind of disappointing, but perhaps bringing in the more customer experience kinds of events like these interactive EV test drives and other neat things that they're bringing to the auto show will help to counter that and perhaps make them more interesting to the actual people who go to the auto show. The other events were mostly for the media to attend.
David Fair: Well, I think it's going to be interesting. We'll see how it all works out. But in looking at the industry as a whole, despite an increase in sales in 2024, I think many in the auto industry did expect to be perhaps a bit further along in the transition to EVs than they are right now. Despite subsidy incentives, they just aren't selling in the numbers that executives expected or hoped for. What is the explanation, in your opinion?
Charles Griffith: You know, unfortunately, I think it's one of those multiple factors at play: everything from inflation and interest rates to supplier shortages, which raise costs for automakers. And it is interesting to know, at least from my perspective, that EV sales outpaced conventional vehicle sales, in terms of their increase over the last year. So, impressively, some of the domestic companies have seen their sales increase more rapidly than the market leader, which we know is still Tesla. So, some good news in there--slowdowns in production and not cancellations generally but delays in the new manufacturing plants that had been announced and maybe are going to open next year instead of this year. So, these are all adjustments that have to be made all the time. It's just that when you're rooting for the low-carbon, electric vehicle market to perform more quickly and trying to speed up that transition, you always wished it could go faster.
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU, and our Issues of the Environment conversation on electric vehicles continues with Charles Griffith from the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center. And speaking of wishing it could go faster, EV Infrastructure remains a huge issue. We've certainly seen some gains here in Michigan and around the country, but so much more is needed both residentially and out on the roadways. Is the investment going to be there in time to support the full transition to EVs?
Charles Griffith: Well, that's still the $60 million question. The good news, again, I'd like to focus on as much of that as possible, is that, in the last year, we saw nearly a doubling of starting infrastructure deployments across the country, including here in Michigan, part of that driven by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act investments through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. NEVI for short. And we've seen increased commitments from the state. The state of Michigan just committed to a $30 million program that should be launching in the next month across the state, which will focus more on sort of the community charging infrastructure that you referred to. Trick is that we have to keep ramping that up as we go. And there are more and more EVs on the road. So, we don't have a full picture of whether those investments will continue. If the federal government pulls back its support, that could be a problem. The state is committed to a $30 million program, but not beyond that. Utilities investments are very important here, and they have actually done some of the most long-range planning, but they still have to get those plans approved by the Public Service Commission. And there's vigorous debate about how much of our ratepayer money should be invested in EV infrastructure going forward and with still question marks about the market. So, there's a lot of moving pieces to this puzzle, and we have to just keep working on it and try to do everything we can to ensure that the investments in the infrastructure increase. And at some point, there will be enough EVs out there on the road that it will just make good business sense to invest in this infrastructure. At least, that's the hope. But in the near term, we still need to jumpstart those investments with supportive government programs and utility programs.
David Fair: Most of what we've been talking about is in reference to personal vehicles. But as a nation, we are reliant on the trucking and the rail industries for a majority of the products we purchase and consume. Is there progress being made in a transition away from fossil fuels and those industries?
Charles Griffith: Yes, there is, David! And I'm glad you brought this up, because it is a really important area. You know, freight and heavy/medium-duty trucking, including busses here, makes up about a quarter of our transportation emissions. From a kind of environmental standpoint, the emissions are worse because of the use of diesel fuel. And so, there's a lot of reasons to try to make quick progress in this sector and present some larger challenges with moving much bigger and heavier vehicles. But it turns out that there is a lot of progress being made and that there are a lot of great initial-use cases where they make a lot of sense. I'll just throw one out. Folks have probably seen some of the Amazon delivery vehicles out there with the strange little headlights. It turns out those are all electric delivery vans made by Rivian, which still has a Michigan presence. Those delivery vans can run all day and return back to the the depot and get it charged up overnight. And it's just saving the company money and keeping our air cleaner and reducing our burden on the climate system all at the same time. So, that's sort of an excellent example of how that sector has a lot of potential for other delivery and sort of a regional basis that makes a lot of sense. We're going to see more postal trucks coming to our roadways that are all electric as well and more recycling and refuse trucks. Perhaps, folks have seen some of the electric school busses that have been deployed right here in Washtenaw County. There's a lot going on here. So, I'm really glad you raised this point. And again, we need continued progress and support with programs to help ensure that the infrastructure is out there and that we have some financial assistance to sort of help make the business case for fleet owners to move more quickly.
David Fair: We're talking with Ecology Center climate and energy program director Charles Griffith on 89 one WEMU's Issues of the Environment. Well, I don't need to tell you. Washtenaw County is at the center of EV research and development, and there has certainly been growth in that area. And part of what you just referenced is batteries and energy storage. Those are areas where we definitely need more improvement. What is on the horizon on that front?
Charles Griffith: Well, again, the good news here is that batteries for electric vehicles continue to improve and get less expensive to manufacture year after year. Also, with the support of some of the new policies out of Washington, we're doing a better job of supporting the growth of that industry here in the United States. So, it's really important for us to develop a domestic industry, especially if we're going to be shifting rapidly to electric. And we want to make sure that we maintain good auto worker jobs here in this country and in the communities that support those facilities and, obviously, a lot of research that happens at University of Michigan and the Center for Auto Mobility there in the Ypsilanti area. So, yeah, a lot of good stuff going on here.
David Fair: In five days' time, a new but familiar administration is going to take over. President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office. And based on his own words, he's not at all interested in advancing the EV movement. In your conversations with members of the auto industry, how have they been preparing for any instability on EVs that the new administration might bring?
Charles Griffith: Yeah, David, I wondered when you were going to bring this topic up. You know, the one thing that I have heard consistently is that their timelines for their planning and investments go beyond any one administration. They have to do that because they can't just keep responding back and forth to any one administration that comes into office. You know, having said that, the policies and the financial incentives that are offered by the federal government do still matter. Between the likely rollback of the EPA emission standards for cars and trucks and the at least threatened rollback of federal tax incentives for EVs, that can still have an impact. I would say probably the tax incentives would be the biggest impact in the near term. Some have estimated that sales of EVs could decline by as much as 25 to 30% because of the less attractive financial obligation that consumers would have to make to buy those vehicles. On the other hand, there's still a good case that can be made that many EVs are already saving customers money over the longer term because it's cheaper to fuel those vehicles. And so, if consumers have the ability to take a little bit longer term outlook, they may still realize that EVs are a good deal even without some of those incentives. We just know that it's harder for lower and medium income folks to make that commitment because of the monthly payment obligations. But again, if they can save on fueling, especially if they drive a lot of miles to get to work or wherever they need to go in their business, it could still make a lot of sense. And I think it still remains to be seen how much the market will be impacted by the reversal of these policies. So, I try to be hopeful that we'll weather the storm. We've done it before, not that long ago. But, if I had my druthers, I would try to keep those policies in place. And I think there is an effort being made by the auto sector and other groups to try to retain those EV tax incentives, knowing that it's important not only for reaching environmental goals, but it's important for trying to support our domestic industry. And our industry needs to remain competitive as part of a global market for automobiles. And if investments go elsewhere, our domestic industry may become less competitive. And that is going to be actually worse for our communities and for jobs. There's still a chance that some sense could be found within the new administration to retain those incentives. I wouldn't bet on it, but I think there's still a possibility.
David Fair: Well, I'm quite certain, given the political and industry climate, we'll be talking again in the not-so-distant future.
Charles Griffith: Thank you, David! It's great to talk!
David Fair: That is Charles Griffith. He serves as climate and energy program director at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center, and he's been our guest on Issues of the Environment. For more information, pay a visit to our website at wemu.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner. And you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is 89 one WEMU FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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