Electric vehicles are a 'huge manufacturing and jobs win' for America: Energy secretary

You've seen them on the roads, at the local Walmart, maybe in your neighbor's driveway.

Electric vehicles are proliferating across the nation, yet so many Americans still have questions about these battery-powered trucks and cars: Where do I charge them? What if I run out of range? Can I afford one?

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, a two-term governor of Michigan and longtime EV owner, recently sat down with ABC News to address the many concerns and anxieties surrounding EVs. She offered a clear message for Americans still deciding whether to buy or lease one: They're better for the environment and your pocketbook. And building them in the U.S. will produce jobs and reduce the dependency on Chinese-made parts.

Still, Granholm said there's work to be done to make charging more accessible around the country.

The interview below has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: Electric vehicles are a hot topic in Washington and around the country. Range anxiety is a real concern for drivers who are new to this technology. How do we solve this problem – is it building vehicles with more than 300 miles of range or is it putting charging stations in every town and on every highway?

A: It's both actually. So the range anxiety issue — I totally get this. I mean, who wants to buy a car if you can't fill it up in whatever way, right? So that's why the Biden administration has put $7.5 billion into building out these charging stations in places where the private sector is not already going. We've got about 170,000 charging stations across America right now. They're adding about 900 per week. With the money that has come from the president's agenda… we think we're going to get to 500,000 by 2026. And more after that.

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