General Motors Co. is withdrawing a request for $14.4 billion in low-interest federal loans as it pursues a plan to fund future energy-saving vehicles on its own.

“The decision is based on our confidence in GM’s overall progress and strong, global business performance,” GM CFO Chris Liddell said in a statement today. “Withdrawing our DOE loan application is consistent with our goal to carry minimal debt on our balance sheet.”

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(AN) – GM’s action marks a break from the strategies that Ford Motor Co., Nissan North America and smaller automakers have used to support their environmentally friendly projects under the Department of Energy program. The initiative was created in December 2007 as fuel-economy standards were tightened and before a global financial crisis sent GM into bankruptcy.

“GM’s balance sheet and cash flow allow the company to fund projects without taking on debt, said David Whiston, an analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. “They will be printing money as sales volume comes back,” said Whiston, who predicts GM could generate $4 billion to $7 billion in cash a year. “It’s also a political thing where they don’t want to be seen taking any public money.”

The automaker’s November initial public stock offering raised $23.1 billion from investors and reduced the U.S. stake in GM to 26.5 percent from 61 percent.

GM said it submitted its DOE loan application in October 2009, a few months after it emerged from its government-sponsored Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

“Our forgoing government loans will not slow our aggressive plans to bring more new vehicles and technologies to the market as quickly as we can,” Liddell said. “We will continue to make the necessary investments to assert our industry leadership in technology and fuel economy.”

GM had $33.5 billion in cash and marketable securities, with outstanding debt of $8.6 billion as of Sept. 30, according to a November regulatory filing. In the same filing, GM said it had reduced its debt load by an additional $2.8 billion in late October.

The Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program authorized $25 billion in direct loans to companies wanting to make their vehicle fleet more fuel-efficient. The program was put in place through the December 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.

Terms of the DOE loan would allow the corporation receiving the money to pay the same interest rate as the government would pay. The company also could defer repayment for five years.

Ford received a $5.9 billion loan under the DOE program in September 2009. The DOE also loaned $1.4 billion to Nissan, $465 million to Tesla Motors and $528.7 million to Fisker Automotive. Chrysler Group applied as well, but the DOE hasn’t made a decision on its application.