US to award $1.7 billion to retool auto plants for EVs

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters the awards were a "hallmark of the Biden administration's industrial strategy" and would "modernise historical auto manufacturing facilities." She said it had become clear more than a decade ago that automakers, to embrace the future, "needed a federal partner especially to compete with other countries who were subsidizing their auto industries and that's what this massive investment is all about."