Of the total Fisker loan, $359 million is going to revive manufacturing at the Boxwood Plant in Delaware in support of Fisker's NINA, a mass-market plug-in hybrid sedan. The company plans to build between 75,000 and 100,000 of the vehicles by 2014. The White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers played a key role in the revival of the Delaware plant. See the White House fact sheet on the agreement.
Fisker plans to use the remaining $169.3 million in ATVM loans for engineering work in Michigan and California to complete the company's first vehicle, the Fisker Karma; to develop manufacturing processes for the Boxwood Plant; and to design tools and equipment for manufacturing its plug-in hybrids.
Fisker automobiles are driven by electric motors powered by a lithium-ion battery, and for long drives, the battery is supplemented by a generator, which is driven by a fuel-efficient gasoline engine. DOE will make additional loans under the ATVM program over the coming months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers. See the DOE press release and the ATVM Web site.
DOE Offers $24 Million Loan to Emissions Controls Manufacturer
DOE offered a conditional loan of $24 million to Tenneco Inc. to develop fuel efficient emission control components for advanced technology vehicles.
Tenneco, headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, is the first component manufacturer to receive a conditional loan commitment under the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program. Previously, the program loaned $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company, $1.6 billion to Nissan North America, Inc., and $465 million to Tesla Motors. The ATVM program also offered a conditional loan of $528.7 million to Fisker Automotive.
Tenneco will use the loan for emission control components for gasoline-fueled and diesel-fueled vehicle engines, including engines for hybrid electrics. These advanced technology products will help car and light truck manufacturers meet increased federal fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards.
Over two million cars and light trucks built in model years 2010 to 2014 will be equipped with the company's emission control technologies, including catalytic converters, diesel particulate filters, diesel oxidation catalysts, and selective catalytic reduction units.
The ATVM program is an open process to promote the development of fuel-efficient advanced technology vehicles. First appropriated in the fall of 2008, the program provides loans to companies making cars and components in U.S. factories that increase fuel economy at least 25% above 2005 fuel economy levels. See the DOE press release and the ATVM Web site.
Honda CR-Z Concept Hybrid Debuts at Tokyo Motor Show
Honda debuted its CR-Z Concept 2009, a gas-electric hybrid, at the Tokyo Motor Show on October 20. The car is a global version equipped with a rear seat; the version to be released in North America in 2010 will be a two-seater - a "sporty coupe."
The CR-Z draws on the legacy of the original Honda Insight, a hybrid first sold in the U.S. in late 1999. The new CR-Z will join a newer Insight and Civic Hybrid in the Honda hybrid lineup. The Civic Hybrid, launched in 2003, was Honda's first mainstream model to feature hybrid power. The 2010 Insight, introduced in March 2009, is a hybrid family sedan. See the Honda press release.
