At the recent Washington Auto Show, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a field hearing to solicit input from stakeholders on public policy that affects the auto industry.

GM spokesperson Britta Gross thanked the committee for helping to retain the $7,500 EV tax credit, which was on the chopping block in the recent budget negotiations. She also said that the nation needs more public charging stations, which need to be “highly visible to consumers and…drive consumer confidence in the ability to drive EVs anywhere at any time.”

Gross called for federal funding for charging infrastructure. The market requires “continued partnership between electric utilities, station operators, vehicle manufacturers, and support by federal, state and municipal government to establish charging stations at the same scale as the 168,000+ gas stations across the country,” she said.

She did not mention any contribution from GM to fund infrastructure. Unlike BMW, Nissan, and Volkswagen, GM has never shown any interest in investing in public charging.

As reported by the Washington Examiner, Toyota encouraged lawmakers to fund hydrogen fueling infrastructure for its fuel cell vehicles. “To ensure the US remains competitive in this space,” said Toyota spokesman Robert Wimmer, “the federal government needs to take a much more proactive role supporting hydrogen infrastructure growth. Without robust federal support for hydrogen infrastructure…the numbers of fuel cell vehicles on our roads will remain modest.”

Source: Washington Examiner, Green Car Reports