US Department of Energy to Provide $1.7 Billion to Boost EV Production in 8 States

TapTechNews July 11th news, according to local time July 11th reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times, the US Department of Energy announced that it will provide a total of $1.7 billion (TapTechNews note: currently about 12.389 billion yuan) in funds to automotive and auto parts factories in 8 states to encourage these factories to complete the transformation so that they can produce electric vehicles and parts.

The Jeep factory in Belvidere, Illinois, which once faced the fate of closure last year, will be revived after receiving a subsidy of $334.8 million (currently about 2.44 billion yuan). The factory will produce electric vehicles in the future, and 1,450 jobs have also been restored.

General Motors can obtain $500 million (currently about 3.644 billion yuan) to transform its factory in Michigan to produce electric vehicles; HyundaiMobis, a parts manufacturer under Hyundai Motors, will also receive a subsidy of $32.6 million (currently about 238 million yuan) - to transform its factory in Ohio to produce parts for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Government officials said that some areas that are affected by pollution or have a large impact due to insufficient investment have been selected. These factories all must commit to switching to electric vehicle production as soon as possible, retain existing employees, meet employment goals, and must also provide employees with welfare measures such as child care, pensions, and vocational training.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm believes that this fund will retain 15,000 jobs and create 3,000 new jobs. Granholm also said that this will help the US compete with other countries that subsidize their automotive industry.