On Aug. 26, Detroit Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy K. Baruah filled in for Paul W. Smith as a guest host of WJR 760 AM’s Focus, interviewing several prominent business, community, and government leaders in the Detroit Region. Many guests shared timely insights on EVs and the industry transition underway during their conversations.
Hear what the interviewees had to say below.
Carla Walker-Miller is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Walker-Miller Energy Services and an energy thought leader. She’s one of the Detroit Region’s top executives and a board member of the Detroit Regional Chamber. In leading one of the largest African American- and woman-owned energy efficiency companies in the U.S., she’s also a leading voice on how the rapidly changing energy industry can drive equitable economic growth.
EV adoption has been slower than we hoped because of the dynamic market, according to Walker-Miller, but she remains bullish.
“People don’t know much about EVs,” she said. “They also believe that EVs are expensive and there are no charging stations. However, there are efforts to bring the costs down and exponentially increase the charging stations.”
Fresh off the Democratic National Convention, Rep. Elissa Slotkin brings a national security and public service background to one of the nation’s most-watched Senate races in the November 2024 election. Like her opponent, she is engaging Michigan voters in one of the states that will determine what party lands in the White House and controls the U.S. Senate – results that will have a dramatic impact on the future of our state, the U.S., and the world.
When discussing the global move toward electrification and the North American decrease in EV interest, Slotkin shared that, “The main thing is, no one is going to make you drive an EV.” She continued, “but if you want to know from me who should make them it should be Michigan. It should be the United States[…]I think the industry has to go for it and make adjustments based on consumers.”
In an era of innovation, few institutions play a larger role in the Detroit Region’s future than the University of Michigan. President Santa J. Ono is putting his vision in place and exploring how the university can drive innovation while serving the common good. He joined the Chamber in announcing Innovate Detroit at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference and spoke to how the two organizations can help cultivate innovation along the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor. He is also a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Board of Directors.
“I’d like us to be known as the university for Michigan, not the University of Michigan,” Ono said. “We have to be part of the solution to invigorate the renaissance that’s occurring in Detroit and the state.”
The Honorable Mike Rogers brings a decorated career in the FBI and Congress to one of the nation’s most-watched Senate races in the November 2024 election. He spoke about the issues that are resonating with voters in one of the states that will determine what party lands in the White House and controls the U.S. Senate – results that will have a dramatic impact on the future of Michigan, the country, and the world.
Rogers spoke about how the U.S. government and businesses can navigate the transition to EVs.
“If you allow us to go to hybrid vehicles, work on the electric grid, [and] let car companies market not mandate…this market will get better,” he said.
Rogers said he believes the solution is promoting hybrid vehicles, working on the electric grid, and letting automotive companies market their own products without government mandates.