WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is awarding nearly $2 billion in grants to General Motors, Stellantis and other automakers to lend a hand restart or expand electric vehicle production and assembly in eight states, including the competitive presidential districts of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
The Energy Department will award grants totaling $1.7 billion to create or preserve thousands of union jobs and support the auto-focused communities that have long powered the U.S. economy, the White House said Thursday. In addition to the three swing states, grants will also be awarded to electric vehicle facilities in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia.
The grants cover a broad range of the automotive supply chain, including parts for electric motorcycles and school buses, hybrid powertrains, batteries for heavy-duty vehicles and electric SUVs, the White House said.
“Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and preserve even more – from Lansing, Michigan, to Fort Valley, Georgia – by helping auto companies retool, restart, and rehire in the same factories and communities.”
GM announced Thursday that its $500 million federal grant will lend a hand the company convert an assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan, to produce electric vehicles. GM has already announced more than $12 billion in investments in its North American electric vehicle manufacturing and supply chain since 2020. This investment and the federal grant (*8*) said Camilo Ballesty, GM vice president of North American manufacturing and labor relations.
The grants, funded by the landmark 2022 climate bill, would lend a hand him deliver on his promise to ensure the future of America’s auto industry is made by American union workers, Biden said.
“Workers who were abandoned by my predecessor are now making a comeback with the support of my policies, including the transition grants my administration is announcing today,” the Democratic president said.
The announcement of the grant comes as Biden rejects calls to resign following his disastrous performance at last month’s debate. Biden, 81, has acknowledged his indigent performance but dismissed it as a “bad night,” even as many Democrats in Congress, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have refused to give him a full vote of confidence.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to maintain a firm grip on the Republican Party, despite being the first former president to be convicted of a solemn crime.
The grants announced Thursday come after a federal competition that had four times as many applicants as grant recipients, according to the Energy Department. Officials declined to name the companies that unsuccessfully applied for grants, but said all of the projects that received funds currently employ Americans who work in union jobs in the U.S.
“There is nothing worse for a manufacturing community than losing jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, former governor of Michigan. Even as competitors like China invest heavily in electric vehicles, the federal grants will lend a hand “ensure our auto industry remains competitive — in the communities and with the workforce that have supported the auto industry for generations,” Granholm said.
The up-to-date grants complement the $177 billion the private sector has invested in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing since Biden took office, Granholm and other officials said.
The allocation of the funds will be subject to negotiations to ensure commitments to workers and communities are met, officials said. The Energy Department will also conduct environmental reviews before the funds are awarded later this year.
If awarded as planned, the selected projects would create more than 2,900 jobs and lend a hand keep about 15,000 union members employed across all 11 facilities, the White House said. The grants come after successful union campaigns from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Fort Valley, Georgia, the White House said.
“The president will not let his foot off the gas when it comes to supporting the U.S. auto industry,” said White House national economic adviser Lael Brainard.
Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and Biden has made electric vehicles a central part of his climate agenda.
“Not only are we unlocking new opportunities for clean transportation – like the iconic yellow school bus, which is now environmentally friendly – but we are also providing Americans with opportunities to save thousands of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs over the lifetime of a vehicle by switching to electric vehicles,” said White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi.
Among the companies set to receive the grants are Blue Bird Body Co., which will receive nearly $80 million to convert a Georgia facility that previously made diesel-powered RVs to produce electric school buses. Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, will receive a total of $585 million, including nearly $335 million to convert an idle assembly plant in Illinois to assemble electric vehicles and $250 million in a separate grant to convert a transmission plant in Indiana to make electric drive modules for electric vehicles.
Stellantis has promised to build a up-to-date $3.2 billion battery factory in Illinois.
Harley-Davidson will receive $89 million to expand a factory in York, Pennsylvania, to produce electric motorcycles, and the Volvo Group will receive $208 million to upgrade three manufacturing plants that supply and build Mack and Volvo heavy-duty trucks. The factories are located in Macungie, Pennsylvania, Dublin, Virginia, and Hagerstown, Maryland.
