The week for electric vehicle news

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, analysis and takeaways on two major announcements related to the future of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.

Joann Muller, who writes the Axios Future of Mobility newsletter, discusses her coverage of an announcement from Ford Motor Co. on Monday, Aug. 11, billed ahead of time as the next "Model T moment." 

As she wrote in her coverage, "The headline is that Ford will introduce a new family of EVs priced under $40,000 and will use a new manufacturing process to try to make them profitably." 

In 2024, MDOT awarded a state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant to the Calhoun County Road Department (CCRD) for road improvements related to Ford Motor Co.'s BlueOval Battery Park that will improve safety, reduce congestion and support 1,700 new jobs and $2.5 billion of private investment in Emmett and Marshall townships.

 Later, Muller discusses an announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), also this week, about new guidance for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which surprised many who feared a withdrawal of funding.

 USDOT is reopening the spigot for federally funded EV chargers after freezing the program (created in the previous administration) for six months.

 "If Congress is requiring the federal government to support charging stations, let's cut the waste and do it right," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement Tuesday, Aug. 12.