If the Obama administration can engineer it, one million hybrid and electric vehicles will hit American roads by 2015. The president's goal is to accelerate construction of manufacturing plants with federal loans and grants.
In July, the U.S. Dept. of Energy made a $730-million loan commitment to Dearborn, Mich.-based Severstal North America to fund the construction and modernization of finishing facilities that will supply advanced high-strength steel for fuel-efficient vehicles. Severstal estimates the projects will generate 2,500 construction jobs for Detroit-area workers.