Report Finds Investments in U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Reach $120 Billion, Create 143,000 New Jobs

(Washington, D.C. – March 14, 2023) The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other national policies have catalyzed already thriving investments in electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S., according to a new report by Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA. More than $120 billion in investments and 143,000 new U.S. jobs have been announced in the last eight years, with more than 40 percent of those announcements happening in the last six months – since passage of the IRA.

"In little more than a year, the historic investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have helped launch an American vehicle manufacturing renaissance," said Peter Zalzal, EDF’s Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies. “This report captures the race to the top in states across the country – from Michigan to Georgia to Nevada – to secure the significant investments and jobs linked to manufacturing electric vehicles.”

The report, U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investments and Jobs: Characterizing the Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act after 6 Months, was released today by EDF and WSP. Among its key findings:

Federal policies have dramatically expanded and accelerated investment in manufacturing facilities for U.S. electric vehicles and the batteries to power them.  

• Manufacturers have announced more than $120 billion in investments in the last eight years
• 73% of that $120 billion was announced in the last 15 months – since Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
• 42% of that $120 billion was announced in just the last six months – since Congress passed the IRA

That investment will support massive numbers of new U.S. electric vehicle-related jobs. 

• Manufacturers have announced 143,000 new jobs in the electric vehicle sector in the last eight years
• 66% of those jobs were announced in the last 15 months – since Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
• 32% of those jobs were announced in just the last six months – since Congress passed the IRA

By 2026, these already announced U.S. facilities alone will be able to produce about 4.3 million new electric cars and passenger trucks each year. For comparison, that’s about one-third of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year.

The report finds even greater levels of investment in U.S. battery manufacturing capacity. By 2026, these already announced U.S. facilities alone will be capable of producing enough batteries to supply more than 11 million new zero-emitting passenger vehicles each year – which would represent more than 80 percent of all new vehicles sold last year.

The investment boom spurred by recent national policies like the IRA will help support jobs in states across the country. 86% of all the investments announced so far are concentrated in 10 states, with half of those – Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia, Nevada and Kentucky – seeing more than $10 billion in investment each. Investments in those same five states plus North Carolina and South Carolina are expected to support more than 10,000 new jobs in each state.

Graphic: Report, page 3

Billions more in investments will help create electric vehicle-related jobs in states not shown on the above map, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois and Texas.

The report also found that U.S. investments, production capacity, and jobs in the electric vehicle sector will likely continue to grow, especially in response to government actions expected in the future – including national vehicle emissions standards for cars and passenger trucks. EPA is also expected to soon propose performance-based pollution standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles like freight trucks and buses. 

“Going forward, EPA has a vital opportunity to establish national pollution standards for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles that reflect and build from these substantial investments—standards that will reduce climate and health-harming pollution, save consumers money, and support high-quality jobs” said Zalzal.

You can read the report here.