Recent news within the American automotive industry demonstrates that the hard work and sacrifices of so many local workers may be starting to pay off again. Interest in the industry and the products it produces is starting to rebound and the Motor City was revving again this past week with the return of the North American International Auto Show.

 

Organizers confirmed that final attendance was up from last year by about 65,000, from roughly 650,000 in 2009 to 715,000 this year. Many of the visitors were particularly excited about advancements in ecologically-minded vehicles.  This trend was apparent in the good news that preceded and accompanied the event as well.

 

First, exactly three years since the day the Chevrolet Volt concept car debuted, General Motors manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for a mass-marketed electric vehicle at its Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant. Initial battery production at Brownstown will be used to validate the plant's equipment and processes, and batteries will be sent to GM's Global Battery Systems lab in Warren for testing. This spring, GM will begin shipping batteries to its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the assembly location for the Volt, for use in production validation vehicles.

 

In a similar vein, Ford Motor Company announced it will invest an additional $450 million in its aggressive electric vehicle plan, paving the way to build a next-generation hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle in Michigan beginning in 2012 and creating 1,000 new jobs. This is in addition to Ford's plans to invest $550 million to transform the Michigan Assembly Plant from a large SUV factory to a modern car plant to build the all-new Focus starting this year and Focus Electric pure battery electric vehicle in 2011.

 

Ford had even more good news as journalists selected its Ford Fusion Hybrid as the 2010 North American Car of the Year and the Ford Transit Connect as the 2010 North American Truck of the Year. It was only the third time in 17 years that one automaker has won both awards. The last time was when General Motors won both in 2007.

 

For Chrysler Group LLC, going green isn't just about creating new vehicles, it's about saving serious money.  The company's 2009 Environmental Leadership Award program has led to reduced carbon dioxide output of approximately 370,000 tons. Chrysler's reduction in CO2 output is approximately equal to the annual CO2 output of four large manufacturing plants or 71,000 automobiles operating on the road. The projects submitted not only resulted in reduced CO2 emissions, but also a savings of more than $50 million annually for the company.

 

Clearly, the new Motown will be as much about the batteries that power the vehicles as it is about the cars themselves.  To that end, A123 Systems signed an agreement to supply lithium ion batteries, manufactured at its newly-leased Livonia facility, to Irvine, Calif.-based Fisker Automotive Inc. The batteries will be used in Fisker's Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.  Production is scheduled to begin later this year and the plant will have an annual capacity of 320,000 batteries for hybrid vehicles and 24,000 batteries for plug-ins.  The company is expected to employ up to 540 skilled workers at its Livonia and Romulus facilities, through 2012.

 

Tata Technologies Ltd., the engineering arm of India’s Tata group conglomerate, reportedly plans to hire 200 more engineers at its facility in Novi by the end of the year. The company currently employs about 475 of its 600 American workers in Novi.

 

Lastly, in a nod toward our impressive history of automotive innovation, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE also announced during the auto show that it has chosen the state of Michigan to host an intense multi-stage competition that aims to pit some of the world’s most fuel efficient vehicles against one another in a quest to win their share of a $10 million prize purse.

 

Fifty-one super efficient cars from 41 teams survived the rigorous design judging phase and now aim to ready their vehicles for the start of on-track performance events in the spring of 2010, thanks to a unique new partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn.

 

In a statement to reporters, Peter Diamandis, chairman and CEO of The X PRIZE Foundation, said “As the birthplace of the American automotive industry, Michigan has the knowledge base, the talent, and the facilities to support the innovation central to achieving the goals of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE and the future of the automotive industry. We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Michigan as we enter the most exciting phase of the competition.”