"You've Got to Believe" - Building the Cars of the Future in America

(Vice President Joe Biden announces that Fisker Automotive of Irvine, California will build plug-in electric sports cars at the shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday, October 27, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann) October 27, 2009. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

The cars of the future are coming, and they will be built right here in the United States.  Vice President Joe Biden echoed that sentiment today as he announced that the former GM Boxwood Manufacturing Plant in Wilmington, Delaware was reopening for business.  With the help of the Administration, loans from the Department of Energy, commitment from the state of Delaware, and the dedication of the American workforce, Fisker Automotive will soon begin manufacturing long-range, plug-in, electric hybrid vehicles at the Boxwood Plant.  By 2014, the company plans to roll 75,000 to 100,000 plug-in, hybrid sedans off the assembly line each year.

The excitement in the crowd today reminded us that American innovation and manufacturing built the automotive industry in the 20^th century – now, we will rebuild and retool it during the 21^st century in a more efficient, inventive, and environmentally friendly way.  As the Vice President said today:  “American innovators, American business, American labor has never let this country down when we've been given a fighting chance.  And today, this factory in Delaware, and the industry, are going to get back up off the mat.”

The future is now and Americans are investing in the new automobile.  Not just the manufacturing, but all aspects of the supply chain—from engineering the battery to powering the cars, from building the materials needed for assembly to shipping the finished product all over the world.  As the Vice President said:  “Imagine an America that has freed itself from the grip of the oligarchs of oil by plugging their cars into a new electric grid of renewable energy based on wind and solar and geothermal.  Imagine a world where people pop the hood of their cars and they see stamped on the battery ‘Made in America.’"

Soon, we won’t have to imagine. 

(Vice President Joe Biden announces that Fisker Automotive of Irvine, California will build plug-in electric sports cars at the shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday, October 27, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann) October 27, 2009. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Vice President Joe Biden announces that Fisker Automotive of Irvine, California will build plug-in electric sports cars at the shuttered GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday, October 27, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann October 27, 2009. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Elizabeth Alexander is Press Secretary to the Vice President