U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday fact-checked Republican representative from Pennsylvania Scott Perry (R-Pa.) for his criticism of the Biden administration’s support for EVs, terming it as a “factually incorrect” statement.

What Happened: At the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Thursday, Perry alleged that the EV industry is “in a bit of a tailspin” as EV sales are dipping.

Buttiegieg hit back at Perry for using the word “tailspin” to address the EV sector which he termed as “growing.” EV sales have been growing every year with 1.2 million EVs sold in the U.S. in 2023, the Transportation Secretary said while addressing the “factually incorrect portions” of Perry’s statements.

Buttigieg added that the quarter-on-quarter drop in sales in the first quarter is due to the seasonal nature of car sales.

EV prices have been falling, reaching parity with combustion vehicles with the help of subsidies, Buttigieg said, while also adding that there is no “mandate” to purchase EVs as claimed by Perry.

"There is no mandate," Buttigieg said. "You can purchase a gas car if you want to pay gas prices at the pump. But if you don't, you can purchase an EV."

Why It Matters: The U.S. government is looking to make EVs account for 50% of all new vehicles sold in the country in 2030. The government is also attempting to scale EV infrastructure by the end of the decade to accelerate the pace of EV adoption.

As of last year, however, government purchases of EVs are insignificantly low. Government agencies targeted buying just 9,500 EVs last year. It is unclear how many were purchased as of the end of 2023.

In 2021, government agencies purchased merely 260 zero-emission vehicles.

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