President Barack Obama made a rousing speech at South California’s Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Centre as he highlighted that America’s future success depends greatly on its ability to make the most of green car technology.
“The nation that leads the world on energy will be the nation that leads the world in the 21st Century,” he said.
Obama’s tour of the “garage of the future” – named so because of its upgraded contents – saw him push for plug-in hybrids by 2015, promise to make the White House fleet green within a year and convert half the Federal cars and trucks to plug-in hybrid or all-electric cars by 2012.
The President also paid close attention to the Ford Escape Hybrid. Edison teamed up with Ford in 2007 and has worked on the company’s plug-in hybrids. Ford has made a significant commitment to plug-in technology and will produce a battery operated transit van in 2010 and a Focus-sized electric car the following year.
Obama is expected to inject billions into the auto industry and knows it will never be restored to health until it starts to roll out affordable small cars, hybrid and fully electric vehicles. He believes the process is well under way and states that American automakers are “remaking themselves into an industry that can compete and win”.
He went on to announce that the Department of Energy will launch a $2billion competitive grant programme under the Recovery Act aimed at sparking the manufacturing of batteries and parts that run these cars. Another $400 million is expected to go as a down payment on electric car infrastructure.
