Ford, Nissan, Tesla get loans from Energy Department for electric cars

An electric Ford Focus, Tesla’s Model S sedan and a five-seat electric Nissan are among the cars that $8 billion in loans from the U.S. Energy Department will help speed to market over the next few years as the government looks to help automakers transition to building more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The first round of loans was announced Tuesday morning at a Ford research center at the company’s Dearborn, Mich., headquarters. Ford will get the lion’s share of the money–$5.9 billion through 2011–to retool two truck plants to make cars and update other facilities.

Ford also will fortify its electric offerings as part of a broader investment, which will include battery-powered versions of the Transit Connect van in 2010, the Focus in 2011 and more hybrids, including a plug-in, by 2012.

Despite fluctuating fuel prices, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said his company is betting that consumers will continue to thirst for efficient rides.

“This is absolutely what consumers are going to want to buy long-term,” he said.

Nissan will get $1.6 billion to build a battery plant and modify its existing facilities in Tennessee. The company says it plans to build a zero-emission vehicle there with a range of up to 100 miles before recharging. The vehicle, which was not named, will first be built in Japan before production is shifted to the United States. The site also will produce lithium-ion battery packs.

“This loan is an investment in America,” Dominique Thormann, Nissan North America senior vice president, administration and finance, said in a statement. “It will help us put high-quality, affordable zero-emissions vehicles on our roads. This project will expand our Smyrna [Tenn.] plant, and that’s great economic news.”

Tesla will receive $465 million to finance a manufacturing facility for the Model S, an electric sedan

that starts production in 2011, as well as to build a powertrain plant. The Model S is expected to cost $49,900 after a $7,500 tax credit.

“Tesla will use the loan precisely the way that Congress intended–as the capital needed to build sustainable transport,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. “We are honored that the U.S. government selected Tesla to be among the first companies to participate in this progressive program.”

The first round of loans is less than a third of the $25 billion appropriated to help companies make more fuel-efficient cars. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the government began talks with Chrysler when it emerged from bankruptcy and said General Motors could get loans when it leaves bankruptcy, but stopped short of saying that money had been reserved for them. GM and Chrysler have been surviving on federal loans as they restructure.

Smaller firms, including an Indiana company called Bright Automotive that wants to build plug-in electric vehicles for government and commercial fleets, also are interested in the program. More loans are expected to be given out over the next several months, the DOE said.

source: autoweek