LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — As we reported one month ago, Republican Mike Rogers is a candidate for the United States Senate.
And during his first day on the campaign trail, he took a swipe at efforts to have every driver in an electric vehicle.
The announcement has certain implications for the nation’s auto industry.
The Biden administration is on a mission to slice into the carbon emissions across this country and moving the motoring public into electric vehicles is a key component of that mission.
Rogers says there is one thing wrong with that policy: people can’t afford EVs.
He fears the money being sent to China for lithium batteries needed to build EVs is only being used to build up the communists’ military arsenal at the expense of the U.S.
“Anytime you climb into bed with the communist Chinese, somebody is not going to get a good night’s sleep,” Rogers said. “85% of everything that is in that electric car is processed in China. That is not good for the long-term economics of the United States or our national security.”
Rogers, who drives a hybrid, argues those vehicles would do more to improve the air quality than one EV and save UAW jobs at the same time.
“You can save the environment with 90 hybrids a lot easier than with one EV, and it doesn’t jeopardize 30,000 UAW workers’ jobs,” Rogers said.
The Republican candidate sides with Democratic UAW President Shawn Fain on pushing this issue with the Detroit Three.
“And I hope Fain continues to use his newfound clout to make sure we have reasonable and rational discussions about how you move forward,” Rogers said.
Rogers favors electrifying city buses, taxi cabs and other big city transportation, but at the end of the day, he says the auto consumer should have choices.
And forcing everyone into an EV “won’t work.”
“They’re saying everyone is going to be driving an EV in 2030,” Rogers said. “I don’t believe that. Do you believe that?”
