EDITOR'S NOTE: David Kelly is the Environmental Defense Fund's North Carolina director.
A new set of misleading ads, sponsored by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) recently started running in North Carolina. These ads repeat the same lies that independent fact checkers have repeatedly knocked down.
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AFPM is the lobby for oil refineries — both domestic and in places as far from Raleigh as Saudi Arabia. But notably, we have no such oil refineries here in North Carolina.
What we do have is a burgeoning electric vehicle industry that is delivering real investment and providing real jobs for our state.
A recent report by Environmental Defense Fund in partnership with WSP, a leading engineering and professional services firm, demonstrates that North Carolina is surging as a national leader in EV and battery manufacturing and supply chain industry investment.
The report shows nearly $10 billion of new announced industry investment in North Carolina between August 2023 and March 2024 -- the largest growth anywhere in the country during that period. At nearly $20 billion since 2021, North Carolina trails only Georgia and automaker juggernaut Michigan for announced EV and related supply chain industry investment.
Legacy auto manufacturers and newcomers alike are investing in North Carolina in reaction to consumer demands that increasingly value reliability, performance, and a lower overall cost of ownership.
Running misleading ads in North Carolina, designed to stoke fear about new opportunities for consumers to choose electric, is totally out of touch with the reality that this growth industry is providing new, well-paying jobs and fueling economic prosperity that’s putting food on the tables of hard working North Carolinians across the state.
These investments and the good jobs that come with them are delivering increasingly affordable alternatives for our residents and businesses choosing to skip the gas pump.
Watching the oil lobby blow millions of dollars on misleading ads is just another good reason to choose vehicles with batteries made close to home.
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