A $25 billion fund for green cars dodged the axe yesterday as the conservative member of the US Congress agreed drop attempts to trim the fund as part of the US government’s budget reviews.
However, according to the USA Today, the attention on the fund will put the Department of Energy, which administered the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program, under fresh scrutiny to make the best use of grants it awards from the fund.
So far the program has awarded $9.1 billion to six companies, including grants to electric sports car makers Tesla and Fisker Automotive as well as Ford and Nissan. A further 18 applications for a share of around $10 billion are currently under consideration.
The program is expected to help President Obama meet his pledge to put a million electric cars on US roads by 2015.
However the next budget review could spell the end for the fund, the country’s paper suggests as a global economic recession continues to bear pressure on such investments. Read full article here: USA Today
