Ford Gets Six Billion Dollar Federal Retooling Loan ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - The Department of Energy has loaned Ford Motor Company six billion dollars to improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles.

The loan comes from a program authorized by Congress for automotive retooling, before GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy.

Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford Motor Company did not ask for loans from the federal government to pay for its restructuring.

But the company did win the lion's share of the first round of energy efficiency loans for the automotive industry.

The loans were authorized by Congress last year, before it became apparent that GM and Chrysler would need billions from the federal government to survive.

Ford's six billion dollar loan will help the company retool its factories to produce more fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

The rest of the initial eight billion in loans will go to Tesla Motors and Nissan Motors.

The Department of Energy says it expects to loan another 13 billion dollars to automakers and suppliers in the next few months. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio