Energy Secretary Pushing Bidenomics, EVs Drives A Model Assembled In Mexico

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm drives a Ford Mustang Mach-E, which is manufactured in Mexico, as she tries to convince Americans to adopt electric vehicles (EVs) in furtherance of the “Bidenomics” agenda, according to NPR.

Granholm and her family recently switched from the Chevrolet Bolt to the Ford Mustang Mach-E EV, according to NPR. Granholm and other Biden administration officials have promoted domestic EV manufacturing as a means to bolster the American middle class and counter climate change, but the model is assembled in Mexico, according to Ford and Forbes.

Ford’s Cuautitlan plant, located in Southern Mexico, is the site of assembly for Mustang Mach Es sold in North America, according to Forbes. The model is eligible for tax credits made available via the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature green energy and climate bill, according to The Verge.

“Things are happening fast. You are in the center of it. Imagine how big clean energy industries will be in 13 years,” Granholm said to one audience in South Carolina while on her tour, according to NPR. “How much stronger our economy is going to grow. How many good-paying jobs we’re going to create — and where we are going to lead the world.”

The Ford plant in Mexico that assembles the Mach-E EV employs approximately 1,000 laborers, 885 of whom are paid by the hour, according to Ford.

In August, Granholm’s Department of Energy (DOE) made $12 billion available to American manufacturers in order to retrofit their plants to be equipped to manufacture EVs.

“As I’ve said before, under Bidenomics building a clean energy economy can and should provide a win‑win opportunity for auto companies and unionized workers who have anchored the American economy for decades,” President Joe Biden said after the administration unveiled the retrofitting funding. “This funding from my Investing in America agenda will further that goal by creating auto manufacturing jobs here at home and helping companies avoid painful plant closings — and to retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities with high wages.”

Granholm and her team encountered several issues while driving through the Southeast in June to promote EVs. A minor mechanical malfunction with the EV she was driving reportedly caused some problems with charging, and an inconvenienced Georgia family called the police on a Granholm staffer who had traveled ahead of her convoy to reserve a spot at a charging station with a gas-powered vehicle, according to the NPR report.

The White House responded immediately to a request for comment.