EVs

MACOG received federal funding to bring EV charging stations to rural and disadvantaged urban areas in the region.

Stellantis, parent company of Jeep and Chrysler, announced Wednesday it plans to build a second EV battery plant in Kokomo.This comes as the United Auto Workers presses the company to protect union jobs in the shift to EVs.

Officials say the action is the last step for local leaders and the ball is now in GM's court

Both AM General and General Motors will see multi-million dollar tax breaks

General Motors is investing nearly $500 million into the metal stamping plant in Marion, so it can make parts for GM’s new electric vehicle fleet.

It also asked U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to tour places where it said the chargers should be placed — and see what opportunities it could open up for those communities.

The Memorandum of Understanding is between Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It aims to create what state officials call an “electric Route 66” that covers more than 1,100 drivable miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.

Nearly 60 percent of the chargers would be located in disadvantaged or rural communities. But “disadvantaged” can mean many things — it doesn’t have to mean racial or ethnic diversity.

Michigan charges some of the highest registration fees, but also has fewer electric vehicles that many other states, including those with smaller populations.

Ripple effects from the war in Ukraine have pushed gas prices in the U.S. to their highest levels since the 2008 recession.