loans
-
Lotus has some very ambitious plans--too ambitious some might say--to launch up to six new models between now and 2015, as well as start in-house development of its own powertrains. Remember, this is a company that currently builds only a trio of very niche sports cars. Lotus is the first to admit that it will need outside help to bring its new lineup, a preview of which we received at the 2010 Paris Auto Show in the form of six new concept cars, into production reality, but unfortunately not everyone is as confident as the Hethel-based automaker. The British government recently rejected a...
-
Tesla Secures $465 Million Federal Loan, Plans Two new Factories
Just like rival Californian electric car company Fisker, which recently secured a $528.7 million loan from the Department of Energy, Tesla has also secured a $465 million low interest loan from the federal government that will be used to fund the construction of two new factories. The factories...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fisker Gets $528 Million From DOE For U.S. Production
The Fisker Karma will be built at a new facility called Project NINA.
Nelson Ireson -
Germany says no to Porsche's request for aid
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, the company that owns Porsche AG and has sought a controlling interest in Volkswagen AG, will not be on the list of government loans in Germany this year according to the latest reports. Porsche is already actively seeking help from outside sources, however. Porsche...
Nelson Ireson -
House passes bill to double DOE fuel-efficient vehicle fund to $50 billion
Former president Bush signed the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program into life last year, but for the past 8 months, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sat on the money, carefully evaluating applications to see which companies would make the best use of the...
James Martinez -
U.S. DOE announces $8 billion in loans for fuel-efficient vehicles at Ford, Nissan and Tesla
President Bush signed the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program into life last year, but for the past 8 months, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sat on the money, carefully evaluating applications to see which companies would make the best use of the funds...
Nelson Ireson -
It's easy to look at the bailouts and bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler as a big-government bonanza. Some even see tints of socialism in the loans and subsequent government ownership stakes. But as Ford points out today, there was more at stake than just two companies. The entire industry, and in some ways, the entire U.S. economy, was riding on the survival of GM and Chrysler, says Ford Motor Co executive chairman Bill Ford, Jr. "It would have been so catastrophic to have a supply-base meltdown because it would have brought down all the auto manufacturers and frankly some other...
-
Volvo may receive lifeline from Belgian government
Despite Volvo being a Swedish company, the trouble-stricken carmaker may have to look to the Belgian government for financial aid to help keep it on its feet. Volvo currently operates a plant in the Flanders region of Belgium, and the Flemish Premier Kris Peeters has been in talks with Volvo CEO...
Jeremy Weber -
GM receives additional $4 billion in Treasury loans
General Motors received an additional $4 billion in loans from the U.S. Treasury late on Friday, while also reaching a cost-cutting agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union ahead of a rumored Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing expected next week. This is in addition to the $19.4 billion already...
Ralph Hanson -
Obama administration moves to boost biofuels with $787 million package
As the U.S. struggles to bootstrap itself out of one of the worst economies in decades, the federal government continues its spending spree, earmarking $787 million to biofuels. The goal is ostensibly to meet a target set by former President George Bush of 36 billion gallons of biofuel in the...
Nelson Ireson -
Bondholders consider increased debt-for-equity-swap as GM bankruptcy looms
GM's decline over the course of this year wasn't enough to convince bondholders and the UAW to grant any concessions, but recent reports that the carmaker was in precautionary preparations for filing a Chapter 11 may have galvanized action on the part of the bondholders. Allowing GM to go to...
Ralph Hanson -
Suppliers only allocated $3.5 billion in aid, not $5 billion
In the first major sign that the U.S. government was keen on helping out the entire domestic auto industry and not just the Detroit 3 carmakers, the U.S. Treasury approved a $5 billion aid package last month for automotive parts suppliers. The aid is to come in the form of guarantees for...
James Martinez -
Canada has followed the lead of the U.S. and rejected the respective viability plans of General Motors and Chrysler, claiming the plans do not go far enough in their current form. This means the carmakers may miss out on the initial $3.2 billion in loans pledged in December, though a small portion will be offered to help buy them time and come up with a new restructuring plan. Chrysler will be given $200 million today of its $800 million promise, while GM will receive a similar sized portion of a $2.4 billion packaged promised to it next month, reports The Detroit News. Both carmakers had...
-
Obama, task force want to offer more help to U.S. industry
No one really knows what to make of the auto market right now, least of all the industry itself. Fiat is forecasting blue skies, GM is on the brink of failing to meet a restructuring deadline, and Ford is still chartering private jets - but President Obama and the task force on the industry are...
Ralph Hanson -
Department of Energy's $25 billion fuel-efficient vehicle fund still untapped
Last November, the Department of Energy issued interim rules for the use of a already-approved $25 billion loan package earmarked for the construction of more fuel-efficient vehicles. But now, almost five months later, there has still been no disbursement of the funds. Over 75 applications for the...
Nelson Ireson -
Ratan Tata asks British government to offer assistance to Jaguar-Land Rover
Warning of impending layoffs should government aid for Jaguar-Land Rover not arrive soon, Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata restated the need for government-sourced funds. An urgent call went out in February from the company's CEO, and though aid of £2.3 billion ($3.25 billion) was approved by the...
Kenneth Hall -
Tesla reveals pricing for Model S, announces sale of 250th Roadster
Tesla's first all-original car, the upcoming Model S plug-in hybrid sedan, is due to be unveiled to the public in just a week’s time but the company has already released a couple of teaser shots - one showing the undercarriage and another showing the new glasshouse. In the lead up to the...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler threatens to pull out of Canada
General Motors and Chrysler have told authorities in Canada they need as much as $8 billion in aid to stay afloat, more than double the original amount requested just three months ago, and in the latest twist Chrysler has threatened to pull out its operations if it does not receive the funds. The...
Ralph Hanson -
The weak economy knows no borders, rampaging across the globe taking its toll in lost jobs and bankruptcies. The car industry in particular is no stranger to this strife, and some might say Great Britain's carmakers most of all, considering their rocky history. In late January UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced the government would offer loans totaling up to £1.3 billion with another £1 billion in guarantees to the struggling industry (£2.3 billion, or $3.25 billion in total), but it had to clear approval with the European Commission's trade practices authorities. Today that...
-
GM auditors have 'substantial doubt' about the company's survival
Once again General Motors is issuing a warning that it may run out of cash. How, you might wonder, considering the billions in taxpayer dollars that have already been pumped into the company? It's unfortunately very simple: GM is still playing catchup with its debt, and all the money spent so far...
Ralph Hanson -
Mulally: electric vehicles are our future
The times, they are a changin'. Carmakers that had seemed bulletproof, or at least too big to fail, are teetering on the brink of insolvency. Government regulations and stipulations on loan money are cinching down emissions and efficiency requirements. And tax incentives are spurring development of...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler incentives cost a massive $5,566 per car in February
People aren't buying new cars. It's really that simple in a lot of ways; the economy is down, the future is uncertain and no one wants to bet their house that they'll still have a job in six months. So Chrysler has been going wild with incentives to try to prop up sales in a market that just...
Nelson Ireson -
Sweden promises €445 million in loan guarantees to Volvo
The solipsism of American media has a way of quietly filtering out much of the rest of the world, but the car industry is in a pinch just about everywhere. Nowhere is that picture clearer than in Sweden where ailing carmakers Saab and Volvo have been seeking government aid for months. Today word...
Nelson Ireson -
GM scraps plans for Volt engine plant in Flint, Michigan
Earlier this month General Motors announced that it was putting plans for the construction of a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan, on hold. The plant was to build a new range of 1.4L four-cylinder powertrains for cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Cruze, but a company spokesperson has now revealed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran