COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has long been a leader in car manufacturing.
But with a changing economic landscape, it may be time to switch gears.
- Two Ohio senators rolled out legislation that would give major incentives to those who buy electric cars
- It comes after the Cincinnati-based electric truck company “Workhorse” agreed to take over the Lordstown Plant.
- New electric car buyers would get a $500 break and businesses would get a $1,000 break, plus an additional $1,500 if they install charging stations.
That’s what Mryia and Todd Williams did when they bought their first electric car a few years ago.
They say it saves the planet.
And by eliminating the need to fuel up, it also saves them a ton of money.
“Some chargers are free… to charge their car at home overnight, it’s about 5 dollars,” said Mryia Williams.
While going electric was a choice of convenience for the Williams family, in the Mahoning Valley, it’s a matter of survival.
"You never surrender, you never give up if you’re from the Mahoning County, you just don’t quit,” said Sen. Michael Rulli.
Facing massive economic loss following the shuttering of the GM Lordstown plant back in March, Senators Michael Rulli (R-Salem) and Sean O'Brien (D-Bazetta) saw an opportunity.
Instead of leaving the plant to wilt, they partnered with Workhorse —a Cincinnati electric truck manufacturer — to turn the Mahoning Valley into a new frontier.
“Senator Rulli and I see an opportunity to make Ohio the most important region in the world when it comes to electric vehicles, and we want to make sure Ohio emerges as the world’s capital for electric vehicles,” said O’Brien.
Tuesday, the senators rolled out legislation that would give major incentives to both businesses and drivers who are thinking about making the switch.
New electric car buyers would get a $500 break and businesses would get a $1,000 break, plus an additional $1,500 if they install charging stations.
It comes at a pivotal moment for Workhorse.
“What’s particularly of interest is that Workhorse is one of the finalists in the post office bid,” said Burns. “The post office is going to replace their entire fleet of those little white trucks that we’re all so familiar with. They do it every 25 years in one shot, one big replacement.”
Steve burns, the CEO of Workhorse, explains what it could mean for Ohio.
“That’s supposed to be decided relatively soon...if Workhorse does win it, we’d like to convince them that we can build that truck in Lordstown,” Burns said.
That would spell out thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact for Ohio.
For Mryia and Todd in Columbus, it means more chances to charge.
“It will encourage other people to switch to electric, which, in turn, encourages more charging stations to be put in, which helps us to charge our car whenever we are out on the road,” said Mryia Williams.
Senators O’Brien and Rulli hope to get the legislation to a vote by the spring.
Representative Kent Smith (D-Euclid) has a similar version in the works for the House.