Iowa’s farmers reap a large bounty from growing corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel. And as the future market for liquid fuels shrinks and as electric vehicle adoption increases, some voices are suggesting support for electric cars is counter to Iowa’s interests.
Whether or not one likes electric cars – for Iowa’s economic future – it will be critical that Iowa embraces both biofuels and electric vehicles. One might ask: But aren’t those interests diametrically opposed?
The perfect analogy is to ask whether traditional retail stores should have opposed and refused to foster Internet commerce twenty years ago. Many of those stores that did resist online sales are no longer in business. It did not matter if retailers opposed online purchasing, it was going to happen.
While Iowa can find ways to make biofuels a larger share of the liquid fuels market, the last thing Iowa should do is hamper the other 98% of our economy by making electric vehicle ownership difficult in Iowa. Iowa businesses will lose out if Iowa believes it can slow down the consumers’ increasing demand for electric vehicles.
FACT #1: Electric vehicle adoption is not going to slow down because Iowa creates barriers to electric vehicle ownership.
FACT #2: If Iowa does create barriers to electric vehicles, Iowa businesses will be at a competitive disadvantage by:
Reducing the ability to attract a high-skilled workforce.
Reducing the ability to attract consumers.
Reducing the ability to attract investors.
Increasing costs for businesses to compete in the marketplace.
In a future newsletter, we will detail how Iowa businesses that purchase the new Ford electric F150 pickup truck will pay $160-$200 more per year in state taxes over businesses that purchase a traditional F150, when an already-enacted electric vehicle charging tax starts in 2023. The final question to ponder: Is it in Iowa’s interest to have a cost-penalty for businesses that choose electric vehicles?