U.S. Loans Ford, Nissan Funds to Boost Fuel Economy

"The Ford Motor Co., an American icon will be awarded $5.9 billion in loans so the American workers can raise the efficiency of more than a dozen popular models," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at a press conference.

Nissan will also receive $1.6 billion to invest in improving the fuel economy of its U.S.-built vehicles.

With this loan, "Nissan expects to cut the costs of its batteries in half and ramp up production of 150,000 American-made competitively priced electric vehicles anually," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at a press conference.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009