The Biden administration will provide $1.7 billion to auto companies to boost their efforts to build electric cars, trucks and motorcycles.
The funding covers 11 projects and is expected to help companies transition their facilities to electric vehicle manufacturing or expand their existing electric vehicle operations.
Administration officials told reporters that funding would be prioritized for facilities that have been temporarily closed or are at risk of closure.
In a written statement, President Biden argued that the effort would be beneficial for both the climate and workers.
“Building a clean energy economy is, and should be, a win-win for both auto unions and auto manufacturers,” Biden said.
“This investment will create thousands of good-paying union manufacturing jobs and preserve many more… by helping auto companies retool, restart and rehire in the same plants and regions,” he added.
The grants will be provided as cost-sharing agreements, as companies will also invest funds in the projects.
The selected projects include Fiat Chrysler’s conversion of its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois into an electric vehicle manufacturing plant, the company’s conversion of a facility in Indiana into an electric vehicle manufacturing plant, and General Motors’ conversion of a gasoline-powered plant in Lansing, Michigan into an electric vehicle plant.
Other projects include refurbishing three Volvo facilities so they can make electric trucks, allowing Harley-Davidson to expand its electric motorcycle business, allowing a Hyundai subsidiary to continue making gasoline-powered cars alongside plug-in hybrids and building a new battery systems factory.
The move comes as Biden and former President Trump spar over the issue of electric vehicles and jobs, with Trump arguing that the shift to electric vehicles is bad for workers, a point he has made in battleground states like Michigan, where auto manufacturing is central to the economy.
But Biden insisted the two sides could move forward together, and supported workers who went on strike last year amid negotiations with their unions.
“This fulfills my promise to never abandon the manufacturing communities and workers left behind by my predecessor,” Biden said in a statement, criticizing Trump.
The subsidies are funded by the Democrats’ Inflation Control Act, which also includes a consumer tax credit for electric cars, but to get the full credit, the car’s batteries must be assembled in North America.
