Volvo, Cummins, ZF Win Electric Truck Manufacturing Grants
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The Biden administration is set to award Volvo Group, Accelera by Cummins and ZF North America a combined $441 million in grants to upgrade manufacturing facilities as part of a drive to increase the number of electric trucks on U.S. roads, it said July 11.
The awards were part of around $1.7 billion in grants issued to help restart or expand electric vehicle manufacturing and assembly sites in eight states, including the presidential battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Automakers General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, school bus builder Blue Bird Body Co. and motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson also received funding, with the largest individual award of $500 million received by GM’s Lansing, Mich., site.
“Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers,’’ President Joe Biden said in a statement. “This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and retain even more — from Lansing, Mich., to Fort Valley, Ga. — by helping auto companies retool, reboot and rehire in the same factories and communities.’’
Volvo Group will receive $208 million to upgrade three of its manufacturing facilities that supply and build Mack Trucks and Volvo-branded heavy-duty trucks. The plants are located in Macungie, Pa., Dublin, Va., and Hagerstown, Md.
Volvo Group will receive $208 million to upgrade three manufacturing facilities, including the New River Valley plant in Dublin, Va. (Volvo Trucks North America)
“We’re very pleased to be part of this Department of Energy program, which supports the Volvo Group’s efforts to drive the shift toward a decarbonized transportation system,” Stephen Roy, chairman of Volvo Group North America and president of Mack Trucks, said July 16.
“Through facility upgrades and employee training, this grant will help our U.S. plants more efficiently produce the innovative trucks and zero-emission powertrain components essential to this transition,” he told Transport Topics in an email.
Volvo Trucks North America offered a sneak peek at the next configuration of its flagship Class 8 VNL tractor — a VNL 440 Electric — during a June media event for reporters in Dublin.
Orders for the VNL Electric are expected to open in the last couple of months of 2025 or at the beginning of 2026, VTNA Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Brand Management Magnus Koeck told TT on the sidelines of the event.
VTNA’s current battery-electric range consists of five VNR Electric models: a 4x2 straight truck, a 6x4 straight truck, a 4x2 tractor, a 6x2 tractor and a 6x4 tractor.
Mack Trucks currently offers the LR Electric refuse truck and Classes 6-7 options for the MD Electric, which was introduced in March 2023.
The Mack MD Electric was introduced in March 2023. (Mack Trucks)
Cummins’ Accelera unit plans to convert about 360,000 square feet of existing manufacturing space at its Columbus, Ind., engine plant for zero-emission components and electric powertrain systems through a $75 million DOE grant, it said July 11.
The company will match the DOE grant and invest $75 million for a total of $150 million to convert the space and expand production of battery packs, powertrain systems and other battery-electric vehicle components for Accelera, Cummins’ zero-emission business segment, it said.
As a result, Cummins expects to add around 250 full-time jobs to its workforce. The Columbus plant will have about 350 employees focused on battery-electric vehicle-related work once those employees come on board.
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“This DOE grant is another step forward in the progress we are making toward a zero-emissions future and expanding battery manufacturing in the United States, strengthening our global position in electrified solutions for commercial markets,” said Amy Davis, president of Accelera.
ZF will receive $157.7 million to convert a portion of its Marysville, Mich., facility from internal combustion engine driveline component production to electric vehicle components for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
“ZF is committed to a clean electric mobility future. We are pleased to be in discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Inflation Reduction Act Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant program. ZF’s participation is contingent upon a future customer award,” a spokesman said in an email July 15, without providing details on the customer or the award. Upon receipt of that award, however, the spokesman said ZF intends to “provide critical componentry to electrify light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Our potential investment in our Marysville, Mich., facility would enhance the domestic EV supply chain, paving the way for a more robust, efficient and environmentally sustainable automotive industry.”
The grants, paid for by the landmark 2022 climate law, will help deliver on Biden’s commitment to ensure the future of the auto industry is made in America by American union workers, he said.
“Workers that were left behind by my predecessor are now making a comeback with the support of my policies, including the conversion grants my administration is announcing today,’’ the president said.
Granholm
“There is nothing harder to a manufacturing community than to lose jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry,’’ said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor.
Even as competitors like China invest heavily in electric vehicles, the grants will help “ensure that our automotive industry stays competitive — and does it in the communities and with the workforce that have supported the auto industry for generations,” Granholm said.
The new grants complement $177 billion in private sector investment in EV and battery manufacturing since Biden took office, Granholm and other officials said.
The awards are subject to negotiations to ensure that commitments to workers and communities are met, officials said. DOE also will complete environmental reviews before money is awarded later this year.
If awards are completed as planned, the selected projects would create more than 2,900 jobs and help ensure that about 15,000 union workers are retained across all 11 facilities, the White House said.
Transportation accounts for the single largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution and Biden has made electric vehicles a key part of his climate agenda.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
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