With Panasonic’s new electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto nearly set to come online, a group of panelists this week at an event in Merriam sounded a bullish note about the Kansas City region’s growing EV economy and Johnson County’s place in it.
That, despite fresh uncertainty at the federal level, where President Trump has vowed to roll back EV targets set by his predecessor.
Dozens of people showed up to a Monday afternoon panel discussion at the Merriam Community Center all about the local state of electric vehicles hosted by Plug-In KC, Climate Action Kansas City’s initiative to ramp up the region’s electric vehicle market and infrastructure to support such vehicles.
The event came roughly a month after President Trump declared in the opening days of his second term that he wants to “revoke the electric vehicle mandate.”
That was a reference to former President Joe Biden’s goal — not an enforceable mandate — of hitting 50% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be battery-powered by 2030.
Part of Trump’s vow included freezing federal funds that have already been allocated for EV chargers, as NPR reported.
In Johnson County, cities have worked to expand their electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Overland Park has gone as far as adopting a non-binding electric vehicle plan that includes laying out strategies for expanding the city’s EV fleet and adding more EV charging stations.
The panelists at Monday’s event argued that despite uncertainty at the national level, the Kansas City area remains an electric vehicle hub, nodding particularly to the nearly complete Panasonic EV battery plant in De Soto.
Panelist says U.S. auto industry needs EVs
Ashok Gupta, a senior energy economist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the crowd on Monday that while “policies come and go,” there is no denying billions and perhaps trillions will be invested in electric vehicles globally in the coming years.
Gupta said that without electric vehicles, there is no auto industry in the United States.
“In order to be competitive, globally, with China and others, we have to be in that space, and I think the industry gets it,” Gupta said. “The pace of it, we can do it faster, slower, whatever, but there’s no option other than to invest in that technology.”
Nick Voris, another panelist who is the director of electrification for utility company Evergy, said China made as many electric vehicles last year as the United States made automobiles total — around 30 million.
Voris warned that if the U.S. doesn’t continue to make EV investments, then it will fall further behind China.
With the American auto industry making up 8% of the country’s gross domestic product — or roughly $1 trillion — that could have major ramifications for the U.S. economy.
“Losing the [U.S.] auto industry would be pretty damaging,” he said.
Kansas City has ‘bonafide electric vehicle economy’
Still, the panelists said the Kansas City region remains a hub for the nation’s future EV market.
There is about $5 billion invested in electric vehicles and the infrastructure meant to support them just in the Kansas City region, Voris said.
The biggest single piece of that investment is the $4 billion Panasonic EV battery plant in De Soto, which is expected to produce its first round of lithium batteries later this year.
Voris said the next generation of the Chevy Bolt will be built at GM’s Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas. That is another $390 million investment.
Ford has also spent $100 million in recent years upgrading its assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri, to outfit it to produce an electric transit van.
“Kansas City is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what’s going on nationwide,” Voris said, adding later in the conversation that “we have a bonafide electric vehicle economy in Kansas City, let there be no doubt.”
There are home EV charging rebates, additional resources
Evergy offers up to a $500 rebate for customers who install an at-home electric vehicle charging station.
Voris said overnight charging is also ideal for at-home customers, adding that there is a one in three chance that energy for overnight charging is powered by windmills in Kansas.
Plug-In KC also offers educational resources for people who want to learn more about electric vehicles, as well as tax credits for buying electric vehicles and public charging stations.
Raffle for electrified Chevy Chevelle is open
MindDrive, which works out of Kansas City-based Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab, converted a 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS into an electric vehicle.
More than 80 Kansas City-area students worked to restore the Chevelle, which was originally recovered from a field.
Plug-In KC showcased the Chevelle immediately before the panel conversation this week.
Raffle tickets to win the Chevelle are on sale through September, and all proceeds benefit MindDrive and the Ignition Lab.
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