The role of EVs in shaping tomorrow

How EVs affect American jobs, energy and our health

Electric vehicle technology is strengthening America’s industrial base. It’s driving new manufacturing, creating jobs across the supply chain and reducing our reliance on imported oil — all while helping lower emissions and improve national energy security.

EVs cost more to own than gas cars.

While average purchase prices are often higher, fuel and maintenance costs are much lower. Falling battery prices have made EVs more affordable and price parity with gas-powered vehicles is projected to be reached within this decade.

Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky lead the country in announced EV and battery manufacturing investment. Much of the work happens in established factory regions, where welders, electricians and assembly technicians apply existing skills to new vehicles and batteries.

Building an EV battery creates enough pollution to cancel out the benefits.

Building an EV does produce more emissions than building a gas car, mostly because of the battery. But EVs make that up on the road, typically within the first year or two of driving. Over a full vehicle life, the Department of Energy estimates about 46% fewer emissions.

Most EVs sold in the U.S. are built overseas.

Most EVs sold here are assembled in North America, and EVs regularly top American University's Made in America Auto Index, which scores vehicles on domestic parts, assembly and R&D.

EV manufacturing has become a meaningful part of the U.S. economy.

Companies announced more than $200 billion in U.S. EV and battery plants through 2024, and dozens of facilities are now running. These investments have created thousands of new jobs and training opportunities across the country.

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100%

domestically produced energy

EVs are powered by virtually 100% domestically produced energy, reducing dependence on foreign oil and keeping energy spending within the U.S.
200,000+

new jobs

Since 2015, manufacturers have announced 201,900 new EV-related jobs across the U.S. and about $200B in concrete investment.¹
46%

lower lifetime emissions

The life-cycle emissions of an electric vehicle are typically more than 46% lower than those of a comparable gas-powered car.²

A stronger future with lasting impact

Electric vehicle manufacturing and economic impact in America

The economic power of EVs

About 4.4 million Americans work in the auto industry,³ with a growing focus on EV manufacturing, infrastructure and services. This expansion of EV-related industries is driving job creation across U.S. manufacturing, research and development and construction.

As of 2024, private companies had announced more than $200 billion in investments for American EV and battery production, expected to create about 240,000 new permanent jobs.⁴ More than 50 EV manufacturing sites are already operating, supporting over 50,000 jobs and more than 100 additional projects are currently under construction.⁵

Beyond direct employment, the EV sector is also generating substantial ripple effects — potentially over 800,000 additional jobs across suppliers and related industries.

Infrastructure growth brings its own economic impact. The U.S. will soon surpass 300,000 public charging ports, and reaching the national goal of 500,000 by 2030 is expected to support thousands of additional jobs in planning, installation and maintenance.⁶

These hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment and nearly a quarter-million direct jobs underscore how American EV manufacturing’s growth is significantly contributing to a resilient and competitive economy that can stand strong in the international arena.

Electric vehicle investments are creating jobs and revitalizing manufacturing centers across America. A 2026 labor market assessment by the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) and Lightcast found that the EV mobility sector generated over 1.7 million job postings nationally, with an average advertised salary of roughly $74,400.⁷

Importantly, this growth is reaching Americans across the workforce: hiring spans manufacturing, logistics, field service, charging infrastructure, design and testing. More than 70% of these postings require only a high school diploma or an associate degree, making the EV sector one of the more accessible growth industries for workers without a four-year degree.

Many of these projects are taking shape in familiar factory towns where American cars and trucks have been built for generations. Welders, electricians and engineers are applying their skills to new types of vehicles and technologies, and proudly continue our long tradition of hard-working American manufacturing. From battery factories in the South to charger assembly plants in the Midwest, these new EV manufacturing projects strengthen local economies from coast to coast.

For more than a century, America’s strength in car making has come from its ability to master new technologies and keep improving how things are built — from the assembly line to advanced materials and automation. Electric vehicles are part of that same tradition of problem-solving and engineering progress.

Around the world, more people and companies are investing in new vehicle technologies, including EVs. Those at the forefront of any automotive technology will be the ones guiding the global industry. In the U.S., billions in private EV funding are currently being invested to ensure we expand and modernize factories, onshore American supply chains and safeguard manufacturing jobs. The goal is to protect and build on America’s long record of ingenuity and hard work to ensure our nation stays the place where the best and most modern vehicles are built.

Electric vehicles, energy security and American energy independence

Security and energy independence

Oil shocks over past decades have shown how events abroad can quickly raise gas prices and impact American families and businesses. Despite our immense domestic oil production, conflicts thousands of miles away still affect American drivers at the local gas pump as oil is traded worldwide.

By reducing the need for imported oil, which makes up around 40% of the nation's oil consumption,⁸ electric vehicles help insulate our economy from foreign instability.

But energy security is not only about where energy comes from. It is also about how well our local energy systems can handle stress and demand, so Americans can use electricity without any disruptions or outages.

This is where EVs add another layer of energy security: they can help the grid manage today’s rising demand, including from the data centers, by acting as flexible energy storage on wheels. Because EVs can charge when power is abundant—for instance at night—and pause when demand is high, they can help stabilize the pressure on the grid.

And with the rise of bidirectional charging, an increasing number of EVs can even give back to the grid to stop outages and power homes.

Together, these efforts make our nation more independent and our everyday energy supply more secure.

With electricity in America being generated virtually 100% domestically, the increased adoption of EVs reduces reliance on imported oil from unstable regions and helps shield Americans from global oil market fluctuations. This strengthens economic resilience and allows for a greater focus on building and enhancing domestic energy infrastructure.

Additionally, EVs can utilize electricity generated from any source. This inherent flexibility allows resilience against disruptions, which further strengthens our national security.

At its core, EVs are massive energy storage units on wheels. This makes the millions of existing EVs on U.S. roads an excellent energy reserve for America.

Simply by choosing to pull power when electricity is cheap and abundant—and pausing when the system is stressed—millions of vehicles can act as shock absorbers to stabilize the U.S. grid.

Most EVs can perform such smart charging today. And, as newer vehicles increasingly feature bidirectional technology, EVs can give energy back to the system when the grid needs it most, to stop outages and make the entire energy system stronger.

Cars of any type sit still most of their lives. With EVs, that means millions of large batteries across the country spend hours each day holding power no one is using.

Bi-directional charging—often called vehicle-to-grid (V2G)—puts that idle energy to work, and more EVs arrive with the capability every year. Even a single vehicle holds enough power to keep a typical home running for multiple days. Multiplied across millions of vehicles, that becomes a significant opportunity to strengthen the U.S. grid — especially during high demand or widespread outages.

The U.S. is seeing a surge in domestic investment in battery production, battery recycling and other related industries. As more EVs are built, more of that supply chain is being built in America too, with new plants now operating across the country, including in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

What sets battery materials apart from fuel is that they are not consumed. Gasoline is burned once and gone, but elements like lithium and nickel remain recoverable, even when a battery wears out, ready to be extracted and built into a new one.

This increasingly circular dynamic helps reduce reliance on foreign nations for essential technology components and onshores a more resilient American supply chain to create new jobs and minimize geopolitical supply risks.

Cleaner air and healthier communities

Electric vehicles produce about 46% fewer total emissions than gasoline vehicles over their full life cycle, from manufacturing to energy use and end of life.⁹ And the gap is widening as the grid gets cleaner: the Department of Energy projects an EV built in 2035 will produce 76% fewer emissions than a gasoline car.

That matters at a national scale. Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and cars and light trucks make up roughly 60% of that share.¹⁰

In one of the first studies to measure this in the real world, researchers found that as electric vehicle ownership rose in an area, asthma-related emergency room visits dropped — by about 3.2% for every 20 additional EVs per 1,000 residents.¹¹

Because EVs have no tailpipes, they eliminate pollutants like nitrogen oxides and fine particles that contribute to respiratory and heart disease. The American Lung Association projects that by 2050, widespread EV adoption could prevent up to 89,000 premature deaths, 2.2 million asthma attacks and over 10 million lost workdays across the country.¹²

EVs significantly improve local air quality, especially in urban areas. Because EVs have no tailpipe, they don’t release harmful tailpipe pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM2.5) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to smog and respiratory issues. Studies support this benefit, linking increased EV adoption to reduced asthma-related emergency visits¹¹ and projecting substantial reductions in premature deaths in major U.S. cities.¹²

In grid regions home to 96% of the U.S. population, the average EV produces fewer emissions than even the most efficient gas car sold today.¹³ And unlike a gasoline car, whose emissions are set the day it's built, an EV keeps improving as every year the grid adds low-carbon power like wind and solar.

Unlike gasoline, which is burned and gone after each trip, the materials inside EV batteries remain intact and can be reused. After their use in vehicles, many batteries find second lives in energy storage systems before being recycled.

Around the world, pilot projects have shown recovery rates approaching 100% of key materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt. As recycling capacity expands in the U.S., reclaiming these resources will help build a circular battery supply chain that keeps valuable materials in America and supports other essential industries, including electronics and national defense.

View footnotes

Environmental Defense Fund: U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investments and Jobs
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): R&D GREET Life Cycle Assessment Model
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Automotive Industry: Employment, Earnings, and Hours
Atlas Public Policy: New Report Highlights American Innovation Powering a Manufacturing Renaissance
Environmental Defense Fund: Production Underway at Dozens of U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Sites after Historic Levels of Investment
Joint Office of Energy and Transportation: Joint Office Celebrates 200,000 Places to Charge
National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) & Lightcast: EV Mobility Sector Labor Market Assessment
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): Petroleum Supply Monthly
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): R&D GREET Life Cycle Assessment Model
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Erika Garcia, Jill Johnston, Rob McConnell, Lawrence Palinkas, Sandrah P. Eckel: California's early transition to electric vehicles: Observed health and air quality co-benefits
American Lung Association: Driving to Clean Air
Union of Concerned Scientists: EPA Stopped Updating the Data Behind Electric Vehicle Emissions. The Numbers Still Show EVs are Winners

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How EVs affect American jobs, energy and our health

A stronger future with lasting impact

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