TOLEDO, Ohio — General Motors has put billions into developing electric vehicles, including $760 million for retooling the Toledo Propulsion Systems Plant for EV production.
On Tuesday, nearly 4,000 car dealerships across the country in a letter to the White House, urged President Joe Biden to slow down his administration's push to ramp up EV production. Those dealerships included 131 in Ohio and 211 in Michigan, according to industry newspaper Automotive News.
Joe Mehling, the executive manager of Dave White Chevrolet in Sylvania, has been in the business for decades and said it's changing, but not in a way he necessarily likes. He said he wasn't a part of the letter to Biden but still agrees with the dealerships.
"I think we're moving too fast," he said. "I think we're jumping in with both feet on something that maybe the public isn't ready for."
Mehling said the dealership had to make many changes to prepare for electric vehicles.
"We're in a position now where we're well ahead of where the consumer demand is," he said, meaning many people aren't buying them, possibly because some consumers can't afford them.
So, how much more are electric vehicles? The 2024 Chevy Blazer is sold in both electric and gas-powered versions.
Mehling said at his location, they sell the electric version for $61,000 and the gas-powered equivalent with the same equipment for $51,000.
Toledo Propulsion Systems Plant makes parts for gas-powered and electric vehicles.
Tony Totty, the president of the United Auto Workers Local 14 hall that represents workers at the plant, thinks EV prices will go down over time as more are made and says there are a lot of benefits to the new technology.
"The slowing down of climate change, it's a real thing," he said. "Air quality will be better with these things. We'll be burning less fossil fuels."
He thinks EVs are the future and will be made regardless, and hopes car dealerships get on board.
"When these corporations and the country put this much money into the infrastructure, it's going to take place whether someone writes a letter or not," Totty said.