The Obama administration said Wednesday that 48 projects will share $2.4 billion in federal grants to encourage development and use of hybrid and electric vehicles, Bloomberg reported.
Grants went to companies in more than 20 states, including projects in Michigan and Oregon. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC will get parts of more than $400 million in grants to Michigan-based automakers, Bloomberg reported.
President Obama spoke at a Navistar International Corp. plant in Indiana on Wednesday, outlining a $39 million plan for the company to build electric delivery vehicles, the company said.
In a statement following the president’s visit to its Wakarusa, Ind., plant, the truck and engine maker said it “anticipates hiring additional workers immediately as it ramps up production of the all-electric delivery vehicle.”
As volumes increase, Navistar said it estimates opportunities for several hundred more jobs in the Elkhart, Ind., area, as the program’s grant application calls for the creation of up to 700 jobs, including Navistar employees and suppliers.
Obama has made several visits to the Elkhart area, which calls itself the recreational-vehicle capital of the U.S. and lost more than 15,000 jobs in the past year as sales slumped, Bloomberg reported.
