KOKOMO, Ind. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was back home again in Indiana Friday, highlighting the importance of the electric vehicle industry and the workforce needed to fill it.
“This is a real full circle moment for me,” said Buttigieg. “I’ve been looking forward to this stop for quite a while.”
Buttigieg grew up in South Bend and served as mayor from 2012 to 2020.
He stopped in Kokomo to tour the Stellantis engine plant and learn about the company’s two plants in partnership with Samsung SDI that are opening:
- One plant will start production in early 2025.
- The other plant will start production in 2027.
The total investment is more than $5 billion and will create more than 2,800 jobs.
Buttigieg labeled Indiana part of the up-and-coming battery belt and emphasized the importance of building the industry here.
“Building EV’s and the components that go with them is one of the best ways we can secure these good-paying careers on American soil and I know that the workers and students here take pride in knowing that they are helping American win that global competition,” he said.
Buttigieg also praised the collaboration of Ivy Tech Community College and its programs created to prepare students for future careers in electric vehicle manufacturing and other related fields. He made his remarks at Ivy Tech’s Kokomo campus.
While electric vehicle sales are rising, growth has slowed, and a Gallup poll this year showed less than half of adults (44%) now say they are either seriously considering or might consider buying an EV in the future. That’s down from 55% last year.
Among consumer concerns: infrastructure and battery range.
Buttigieg says they’re working on that.
“While 80-percent of EV charging happens at home, it is true; we need to build out more EB infrastructure and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said, adding the U.S. has “roughly doubled” the number of publicly available EV charging stations in the last four years. “That has been driven by the private sector. We need to deploy public funding to fill in the gaps in areas where it’s not yet profitable to put in EV chargers. We’ve got a program doing exactly that. Most of those charges will go in the second half of this decade."
Buttigieg did not address speculation that he could be Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice for a running mate in the race for the White House. A press spokesperson said the visit was in his official capacity as U.S. Transportation Secretary and not election-related.