President Barack Obama on Thursday renewed his campaign pledge to push for 1 million plug-in electric hybrid vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, and promoted a $2 billion battery research program that is part of the economic stimulus program.
Speaking at an electric vehicle development facility in California, Obama said the $2 billion grant program "will spark the manufacturing of the batteries and parts that run these cars, build or upgrade the factories that will produce them, and in the process, create thousands of jobs right here in America."
Michigan lawmakers pushed hard for the research money during the debate over the stimulus package, saying it was crucial to helping the auto industry develop next-generation plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.
Obama's call for 1 million plug-in hybrids by 2015 was first made in a Lansing campaign speech last year. Auto manufacturers have said they worry the plan is too ambitious -- Toyota officials have called the plan "unrealistic." But Obama said Thursday it's a key component of his plans to reduce dependence on imported oil.
General Motors Corp. plans to begin production of its extended range electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, late next year; Ford Motor Co. said in January it will bring a fully electric vehicle to market by 2011 and a plug-in hybrid in 2012. Chrysler LLC will have produced 100 all-electric vehicles by year's end, and in January said it plans to have four electric models on the road in 2013. The company says it expects to have 500,000 electric vehicles on the road in four years; Toyota Motor Corp. will have a test fleet of 150 plug-ins on U.S. roads by early next year.
The White House said the Department of Energy will offer $1.5 million in competitive grants to U.S. developers of advanced batteries, and $500 million for development of other components needed for plug-in hybrids, such as electric motors.
Another $400 million will be used to demonstrate the infrastructure needed to make such vehicles practical, such as plug-in stations for owners to recharge their cars.
You can reach Gordon Trowbridge at (202) 662-8738 or gtrowbridge@detnews.com">gtrowbridge@detnews.com.
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