Ford gets $5.9 Billion in U.S. Government aid

Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. automaker not receiving emergency federal loans, will get $5.9 billion in government financing to accelerate production of fuel-efficient cars.

Ford will be among the first recipients of the loans in a $25 billion Energy Department program to promote production of the vehicles with improved fuel economy, the agency said today in a statement. Nissan Motor Co. will get $1.6 billion, and San Carlos-based Tesla Motors Inc., maker of the all-electric Roadster, received approval for $465 million.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was scheduled to visit Ford's hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, to make the announcement in front of the automaker's chief executive officer, Alan Mulally, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat. The energy loans are separate from bailouts given to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

Congress created the technology development loans in the 2007 energy bill to help automakers boost fuel economy in their vehicle fleet by about 40 percent, to 35 miles (56 kilometers) per gallon by 2020. President Barack Obama on May 19 moved up the deadline for automakers to achieve 35 mpg to 2016.

Ford may use some of the financing to help pay for a $550 million conversion of a Wayne, Michigan, sport-utility vehicle factory to production of the Focus small car, including an electric version, the automaker has said.

After posting a record $14.7 billion loss in 2008, Ford has said it's benefiting from not taking government loans to fund its operations. It has gained U.S. retail market share in seven of the past eight months and said it is attracting customers from GM and Chrysler.

The first $10 billion in Energy Department financing will be available this year, with $15 billion more next year, according to budget documents released May 7.

Source : Los Angeles Times