Ford unveils electric F-150 as Biden tours electric plant

May 18 (UPI) -- Ford unveiled its new all-electric F-150 pickup truck Tuesday during President Joe Biden's visit to the company's electric vehicle assembly plant in Dearborn, Mich.

The public got its first look at the F-150 Lightning ahead of its expected debut, though Ford declined to release specifics about the electric model of its most popular truck. It's expected to go on sale in mid-2022.

Biden took the truck for a spin at the Ford testing site, telling reporters, "This sucker's quick."

Biden visited the Ford Motor Co. Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to promote his vision for creating jobs, upgrading infrastructure and cutting down the United States' carbon footprint.

"Look, the future of the auto industry is electric," he told those in attendance. "There's no turning back. The only question is whether we'll lead the race or fall behind."

During Biden's tour of the plant, Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and International Markets Group, said there's a need for an expanded EV charging network.

"The charging infrastructure needs to be there as the volume grows," Galhotra said.

Biden has proposed spending $174 billion to support electric vehicle manufacturing as part of his American Jobs Plan.

The president's visit came on the same day Italian supercar icon Lamborghini announced a fully electric vehicle by the end of the decade.

The White House said Tuesday that the U.S. market share of electric vehicle sales is a third of China's, and the American Jobs Plan aims to establish American leadership in the industry.

"[It] will position America to win the future of transportation and manufacturing with once-in-a-generation investments that will strengthen our ability to create good-paying, union jobs, dramatically expand American manufacturing, make EVs more affordable for families, and ship EVs and their parts around the world," the White House said.

A half-million charging stations would be built and incentives to buy electric trucks and heavy-duty vehicles would be expanded under Biden's plan. It also would give automakers grants to retool factories for EVs.

The package also includes $20 billion to electrify thousands of the nation's school bus fleet and $25 billion for EV transit buses.

Republicans have argued that the plan is too expensive and should be limited to traditional infrastructure projects, like roads and bridges.