President Joe Biden said Monday that the entire U.S. federal fleet of vehicles would be replaced by EVs made in the United States.
What Happened: “The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we're going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers,” said Biden.
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American manufacturers of EVs include Tesla Inc (TSLA), Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE), and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) – backed Rivian among others.
The president gave no timeline for the move and did not indicate which vehicles would be replaced first.
Why It Matters: “This would be the largest mobilization of public investment and procurement, infrastructure and R&D since World War 2,” said Biden.
The U.S. fleet is made up of 645,000 vehicles which include 245,000 civilian vehicles, 173,000 military vehicles, and 225,000 post office vehicles, according to the Federal Fleet Report, as cited by Electrek.
U.S. Post Office vehicles are said to be due to for replacement and the government has been running bids to replace them.
Workhorse Group Inc (WKHS), a company that plans to offer delivery vans, has bid for the contracts but the process is stalled.
The company’s stock surged 7.4% in the after-hours session to $26.54 and after closing 5.1% higher at $24.71 on Monday.
Lordstown shares traded 5.2% higher at $24.4 in the after-hours session on Monday. Tesla shares dropped 0.7% after closing the regular session 4% higher at $880.8.
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