- The Department of Energy has awarded over $1 billion to GM and Stellantis.
- GM will transform Lansing Grand River Assembly into an electric vehicle hub.
- Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly will reopen and employ around 1,450 UAW employees who will make an undisclosed EV.
The Department of Energy has awarded $1.7 billion to automakers and suppliers to help them build new electric vehicles. The government says the funds will aid 11 “shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly facilities” in eight states including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia.
The government was coy on specifics, but said the move will “create and retain thousands of good-paying union jobs and support the American auto communities that have driven the U.S. economy for generations.” The heavily political press release also claimed the “announcement reflects President Biden’s deep commitment to reinvest and revitalize – and never give up on – the manufacturing communities and the workers who have helped build America’s middle class.”
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Speaking of President Biden, the White House released a statement saying “Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers. This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and retain even more – from Lansing, Michigan to Fort Valley, Georgia – by helping auto companies retool, reboot, and rehire in the same factories and communities.”
While the Department of Energy didn’t go into many specifics, a partial list of projects revealed Stellantis was the big winner. Belvidere Assembly will get $334,763,050 to transition into a “complex for electrification,” while the Kokomo Transmission Plant receives $249,999,999 to produce electric drive modules.
GM also won big as they’re receiving $500,000,000 to transform Lansing Grand River Assembly into an electric vehicle hub. The automaker didn’t have much to say about the grant, but the facility currently builds the Cadillac CT4 and CT5.
Other companies awarded grants include Blue Bird, Cummins, Harley-Davidson, ZF, and the Volvo Group. American Autoparts, a subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis, is also getting $32,617,879 to support production of a new “light PHEV truck” in Toledo, Ohio. That’s presumably the Jeep Gladiator 4xe that was announced earlier this year.
