GM, Stellantis and Volvo Group to gain $1.7 billion in EV grants

The Department of Energy funding, through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will be distributed across projects at 11 plants in eight states in the US, including $500m for GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Michigan, $330m to Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly plant in Illinois, and $250m to Stellantis’ EV modules transmission manufacturing plant in Indiana.

Camilo Ballesty, vice-president of North America Manufacturing and Labour Relations, GM said the grant will help GM convert its Lansing plant for EV production, and said it will “underscore GM’s commitment to US leadership in manufacturing and innovation”. In 2022, GM announced $6.6 billion worth of investment across Michigan to construct a new manufacturing plant and develop EV pickup production, including $2.6 billion for its new battery plant in Lansing through GM’s Ultium joint venture with LG Energy Solution. When finished, the Lansing battery plant will be 2.8 million-sq.ft, with a cell operational capacity of 41 GWh. The facility is scheduled to begin production in Q4 of 2024 and by the end of 2025 will employ more than 1,700 people in new high-tech jobs.

In 2023, Stellantis announced it would invest a total of $155m in three Kokomo, Indiana, plants to produce new electric drive modules to help power future EVs assembled in North America and to support the goal of 50% battery-electric sales in the U.S. by 2030. Gear machining and final assembly will be at the Indiana Transmission Plant. Production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024, following retooling.

Volvo Group plants in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland that build medium and heavy duty trucks are also set to receive grants, as well as American Autoparts’ chassis and assembly plant in Ohio.

The White House said the grants will cover parts for EVs, hybrid powertrains, heavy-duty commercial truck batteries and electric SUVs.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden said: “Building a clean energy economy can and should be a win-win for union autoworkers and automakers. This investment will create thousands of good-paying, union manufacturing jobs and retain even more, from Lansing, Michigan to Fort Valley, Georgia, by helping auto companies retool, reboot and rehire in the same factories and communities.”

The Department of Energy added that the grants will help protect against Chinese competition in the EV sector. Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secretary said: “There is nothing harder to a manufacturing community than to lose jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry.” She added that 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”.

The grants are subject to negotiations to ensure that commitments to workers and communities are met, and the Department of Energy will complete environmental reviews before the funds are awarded later this year.