General Motors and others were set to receive billions in funding to retool factories and press forward with electrification efforts, but that money has been in danger since President Trump took office, and a recent report from Reuters suggests that the funds are on the chopping block.
The report states that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering canceling $1.1 billion in grants to General Motors and Stellantis, which includes $500 million for GM to convert the Lansing Grand River factory for EV production. Stellantis expected to receive $335 million to reboot its Belvidere plant.
The DOE is eying more than $12 billion in grants and funding, which is in addition to more than $7.5 billion in canceled funds for other clean energy projects. The Trump Administration has made it clear that EVs are not its priority, nixing the federal EV tax credit and canceling funds slated for clean energy efforts.
While the grants weren’t extremely large relative to the sums thrown around in the automotive industry, their cancellation could put GM and Stellantis in a tough spot. Retooling is expensive, and Stellantis is in the middle of a turnaround effort, so it doesn’t have a ton of breathing room. Both automakers have backed off the most aggressive of their electrification plans, however, and this might push them further in the other direction.
[Images: General Motors, Stellantis]
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