The American president and car fan, Joe Biden, did not hesitate in his pleasure this Wednesday at the opening of the Detroit Auto Show, which is coming back to life after two editions canceled due to Covid-19, with the manufacturers determined to accelerate its transition to less polluting vehicles.
Before a speech focused on the initiatives that have accelerated this transition, Joe Biden took the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an electric Cadillac Lyriq and a Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
Resumption of the show after two years of covid.
“It’s a beautiful car,” he said of the Cadillac, “but I love the Corvette,” whose engine revved.
“He said he’d take her home,” joked General Motors boss Mary Barra.
Wandering through the halls of the fair, Joe Biden met with officials from General Motors, Ford or Stellantis but also from the main UAW automobile union. A few weeks before the midterm elections, all of Michigan’s top elected Democrats were there, too.
The show had been out of business for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event used to take place in January, but was moved to September, a period with better weather.
However, the 2022 edition is less important than the previous ones, since many foreign manufacturers or newer players like Tesla are absent.
Combustion engines still present
Some big brands continue to present their latest developments there.
The brand Chevrolet met also in advance of the electric declines of the Silverado pick-up and the cell of the Equinox SUV, released last week with a base price of 30,000 dollars, but to propose an offer plus affordable that celle des electric voitures currently sur the market.
Combustion engines are not entirely relegated to oblivion: Chevrolet on Wednesday introduced a new version of its Tahoe SUV that runs on gasoline.
The legendary Jeep brand, from the Stellantis group, presented a special edition for the 30th anniversary of its Grand Cherokee SUV as well as a rechargeable hybrid Jeep.
Joe Biden must highlight in his speech the measures taken since his arrival at the White House to facilitate the transition to electricity, such as the 7.5 billion dollars released for the construction of charging stations, a semiconductor law, components that are now essential . in cars packed with electronics, and subsidies for both manufacturers and motorists.
However, industry players have expressed reservations about the new incentives for purchasing an electric vehicle, subject to specific conditions such as final assembly in North America.
But the president has had fairly good relations with automakers since helping them out of a tough spot after the 2008 financial crisis when he was vice president. Since he arrived at the White House, he has already visited the factories of GM and Ford.
Source: BFM TV
