Even after receiving a bailout and continuing to get help from the US government as you’ll see below, the Big 3 automakers resumed their attacks on the Obama Administration’s plan to raise fuel efficiency standards to 56 mpg by 2025.
They have launched a radio ad campaign with their usual tired line – which has never proven to be true – that it will raise prices, reduce vehicle options and, worst of all, lead to job losses.
DOE Loan for Lightweight Cars
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is offering a $730 million conditional loan commitment to modernize a high-strength steel factory in Dearborn, Michigan that is expected to play an important role in the production of new, lightweight vehicles.
The funding would be used to build new facilities and overhaul existing ones to produce the next generation of automotive advanced high strength steel (AHSS) for fuel-efficient vehicles.
An increased supply of this lightweight steel will help U.S. automotive manufacturers meet pending and future design, weight, and safety requirements of advanced technology vehicles, DOE says.
The facilities will produce a wide range of advanced high strength steels, enabling manufacturers to reduce total vehicle weight by 10%, while meeting increasingly stringent safety regulations. It would reduce fuel consumption by nearly 30 million gallons a year, according to DOE, while creating over 2,500 construction jobs and 260 permanent manufacturing jobs.
Car Industry Gets Help on Batteries Too
The DOE is also helping the car and battery industries develop batteries for electric vehicles through its National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).
Three teams will receive $7 million to design software that can more quickly develop a wide array of advanced electric vehicle batteries to bring their cost down.
The cost-shared projects bring the total budget to $14 million over the next three years.
The teams will develop battery engineering tools to design cells and battery packs; shorten battery prototyping and manufacturing processes; improve overall battery performance, safety, and battery life; and reduce battery costs.
NREL anticipates the resulting systems will become competitive marketplace offerings in the near term.
Who are the industry teams?
1. Ford Motor Company, EC Power, Penn State University, Johnson Controls,
2. General Motors, ANSYS, and ESim;
3. Johnson Controls-Saft, A123 Systems, CD-adapco, Battery Design LLC.
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The fuel standards may be very tough to meet, and will cost the industry a lot to convert over. I worked for the National Auto Dealers, and those dealers had a lot to handle in the last few years, and are just recovering from the last crisis, still.
Gail, regarding your comment: Fuel standards may be very tough to meet – this is the first raise in standards since the 1980s. China is meeting those fuel standards now and US car makers have been making cars for the EU market at tougher standards for years! US car companies have fought every innovation forever including seat belts and air bags – that’s why they’ve been losing market share all these years to companies from other companies.