With President-elect Joe Biden getting ready to take workplace in January and his management crew starting to take form, the auto trade has a chance to rewrite its relationship with Washington and advance an agenda that steers the U.S. towards an electrified and automatic future.

John Bozzella, CEO of the trade’s main lobbying group, mentioned the Alliance for Automotive Innovation is “transferring with a way of urgency” because it encourages members of Congress and the incoming administration to take a look at coverage proposals unveiled by the group this month.

The chief government mentioned now could be the time for the sector and U.S. policymakers to work collectively and safe the nation’s place as a world chief.

“The international locations that lead the event and adoption of those applied sciences — whether or not it is electrification, extremely automated autos or different related applied sciences — these are the international locations which are going to form the availability chains,” Bozzella instructed Automotive Information.

“They are going to develop the working guidelines and doubtlessly form what the worldwide automotive market appears to be like like sooner or later,” he mentioned. “We wish this nation to steer.”

Following the discharge of an AV coverage highway map, the alliance final week unveiled its auto innovation agenda, outlining eight supply-and-demand coverage approaches for making certain U.S. competitiveness in these forward-looking applied sciences.

Within the report, the alliance urges policymakers to help efforts that may encourage the adoption of electrical autos and modernize regulatory oversight of AVs and different new applied sciences.

“The long-term way forward for the trade and the auto market is zero web carbon and electrical drive. That’s the place we’re headed. That is the place all of us need to go,” Bozzella mentioned. “Within the midterm to long run, we have to be working successfully with all policymakers throughout the spectrum on the native, state and federal stage to assist shift towards that future.”

The alliance’s coverage platform is in keeping with Biden’s local weather and power plans.

On the marketing campaign path, he pledged to construct tons of of hundreds of EV charging stations nationwide and mentioned he helps shopper incentives for EV purchases in addition to swapping the federal government’s fleet with electrical fashions.

“There’s numerous unity of function,” Bozzella mentioned. “There’s numerous alternative for us to work collectively.”

Biden final week selected former presidential rival Pete Buttigieg as his nominee to steer the U.S. Division of Transportation.

The transportation secretary will work with “states, enterprise and labor to put in 500,000 charging stations for the subsequent era of unpolluted autos, sensible grid methods that cut back power consumption and to usher in a clean-energy economic system all throughout the nation,” Biden mentioned in remarks final week.

The president-elect additionally picked former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as his power secretary and North Carolina environmental regulator Michael Regan as EPA administrator.

If confirmed by the Senate, the three officers shall be tasked with implementing the centerpieces of Biden’s “Construct Again Higher” agenda, equivalent to modernizing infrastructure and shaping future transportation, power and local weather coverage.

Any efforts by the Biden administration to spice up EVs within the U.S. may nonetheless be impeded by low shopper adoption of these autos and a divided Congress, if Democrats do not win each Senate seats in Georgia in subsequent month’s runoff elections.

With out management of the Senate, “it is an entire lot tougher,” Chris Krueger, Washington strategist for monetary companies agency Cowen Washington Analysis Group, mentioned final week throughout a webinar hosted by the alliance.

Nonetheless, lots of the alliance’s members, which embrace most main automakers within the U.S. in addition to some suppliers and tech firms, are investing billions in EVs and revamping their lineups to make approach for extra.

Basic Motors, for instance, mentioned final month it’s rising its spending on EVs and AVs by 35 p.c to $27 billion and that 40 p.c of its U.S. lineup shall be electrical by the tip of 2025.

Michelle Krebs, government analyst at Autotrader, mentioned the trade nonetheless has “a methods to go,” with zero-emission autos — gas cell, battery-electric and plug-in hybrid — making up about 2 p.c of recent light-duty autos offered within the U.S.

“There’s numerous room for enchancment,” Krebs mentioned within the webinar. “It will get much more publicity than it really does gross sales.”

Carla Bailo, one other webinar panelist, mentioned the probability that the Biden administration will set extra stringent gas economic system and emissions requirements “bodes properly” for the EV market, however the know-how must be produced within the U.S. for long-term sustainability.

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“We’re already behind in batteries,” mentioned Bailo, CEO of the Heart for Automotive Analysis in Ann Arbor, Mich. “We will not let that occur with any of the opposite applied sciences.”

The alliance, in its agenda, mentioned China “has already established an EV battery provide chain and manufacturing dominance” and is “transferring aggressively” to steer in AVs. Europe can also be not far behind on constructing a battery market, Krebs famous.

“It is concerning the political will to be a pacesetter,” Krebs mentioned. “It is going to take a concerted effort by a number of events to maneuver us in that path, and that isn’t straightforward.”

Within the meantime, Bozzella mentioned the alliance goes to work with the Biden administration and new Congress on its coverage agenda to develop a coordinated nationwide strategy.

“It is a robust alternative for us to align round securing our place — America’s place — as the motive force of worldwide aggressive automotive know-how,” he mentioned. “Now could be the time to proceed this progress and speed up it.”