Rutherford Quoted in PolitiFact Article on Shift to Electric Vehicles

October 30, 2023

PolitiFact

Tod Rutherford

Geography & the Environment Department

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict & Collaboration

Environment

Federal

Infrastructure

United States

PolitiFact

Tod Rutherford

Although the traditional U.S. auto sector faces challenges from the industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EV), including from China, there is no "Biden mandate" for electric vehicles to fully supplant gasoline-powered vehicles. Biden has offered significant aid to the U.S. auto sector to keep it competitive in the new EV marketplace.

"If the (Biden) administration does not incentivize an electric transition, it means the U.S. will cede EV leadership to China," says Tod Rutherford, professor of geography and the environment.

"The Europeans are very alarmed by this and especially the German manufacturers are scrambling to catch up. In other words, there is not only an environmental issue here but an economic one," he says.

Read more in the PolitiFact article, “Donald Trump’s off-base claims about electric car ‘mandates’ and markets.”