The funding will now be used to increase the production of hybrid vehicles<\/a> and other advanced car technologies.<\/strong><\/p>\n The grants include $584.8 million given to Stellantis, $500 million given to General Motors, $285 million given to Mercedes-Benz, and $208 million given to Volvo for various EV and electric truck projects, according to internal DOE documents.<\/p>\n The DOE froze the grants last year as part of a sweeping review of green energy spending<\/a>, but in recent weeks initiated negotiations with the car companies to discuss modifying their grants. Those negotiations remain ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the major issues that we had with the Biden administration\u2019s selections [was] that they didn\u2019t take into account market forces,\u201d a senior DOE official involved in the review told the Free Beacon<\/em>, noting that EVs are no longer as \u201ccost-useful\u201d<\/a> as they were when the companies first applied for the funding three years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are many [car companies] who came back and said, \u2018our plant was going to do just EVs. That\u2019s no longer feasible.\u2019<\/a> There are hybrid options that were presented,\u201d the official continued. \u201cThe opportunity to create optionality was huge for this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to support for hybrid development<\/a>, the official said the grants would also enable the manufacturing of related advanced car technology like regenerative braking systems, which convert kinetic energy into electricity in EVs and hybrids.<\/p>\n The DOE\u2019s actions reflect President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda to boost car manufacturing in the United States while increasing consumer choice<\/a> in car buying. <\/strong><\/p>\n They also represent the latest rollback of the Biden administration\u2019s green agenda, which involved phasing out production of gas-powered autos<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then-White House adviser John Podesta, for example, said the DOE auto grants<\/a> would help tackle \u201cthe existential threat of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n Since taking office, Trump has moved swiftly to slash Biden-era regulations<\/a> that were designed to force Americans to buy EVs and eliminate generous tax incentives for EV buyers.<\/p>\n Those actions have contributed to the rapid decrease<\/a> in EV sales. At the same time, hybrid sales have far overtaken EV sales, according to the Energy Information Administration<\/a>, and automakers have abandoned plans to transition<\/a> their fleets to EVs.<\/p>\n Read rest at Free Beacon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"hybrid](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatechangedispatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hybrid-vehicle.jpg?ssl=1\")
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The Trump Department of Energy is restructuring $1.7 billion in Biden-era grants that were designed to coax major automakers to convert their factories into electric vehicle plants, the Washington Free Beacon<\/em> has learned. [some emphasis, links added]<\/p>\n