As North Carolina prepares for electric vehicle manufacturing, Trump says China will dominate the market
In the file photo, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi get a look at the Toyota bZ4X all-electric vehicle during a visit to the Washington Auto Show in Washington in January, 2023. The Toyota plant in Randolph County is expected to produce batteries for vehicles like these. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Former President Donald Trump recently cast doubt on whether the United States can compete with China on electric vehicle production. The comments come as North Carolina works to become an EV hub.
Speaking during a Michigan town hall Tuesday, former President Trump said U.S. car manufacturers don’t have the materials that China has to produce electric vehicles. He suggested instead focusing on traditional gas-powered ones.
Investments in North Carolina offer a different take. More than $19 billion has been pledged for manufacturing EVs and parts, supporting 15,000 jobs in the state. That's according to a report from the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund last month.
Bill McCaskill is a Democrat running for the board of Commissioners in Randolph County, where a multibillion-dollar plant is being built to make batteries for Toyota electric vehicles.
Despite what Trump says, he doesn’t think EV manufacturing in North Carolina can be stopped.
“The car companies have spent so much money on EV production and preparing for future EV production. I don’t think that’s realistic to even say something like that," he says. "If we would go back to gas cars it would really hurt North Carolina’s future.“
McCaskill, a longtime member of the Asheboro City Council, says electric vehicles are not only good for the local economy but also for the environment.
The former president also said he’d slap higher tariffs on vehicles coming into the U.S. without acknowledging that those costs are typically passed on to consumers.
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