March 12 (Bloomberg) -- The European Investment Bank approved 3 billion euros ($3.85 billion) in loans to car and truck makers such as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Volvo AB to boost production of cleaner vehicles.

The producers of cars and trucks receiving the loans are BMW, Daimler AG, Fiat SpA, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, Renault SA, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks and Scania AB. The loan to Volvo Cars is for 200 million euros; the funding to the other companies is 400 million euros apiece, the EIB said.

The auto industry is pressing for financial help after car sales slumped the most in 15 years in 2008. The recession and the credit crunch have taken a toll on the industry, forcing governments to come up with aid. The European Union recently approved a plan by the French government to lend Renault and Peugeot 3 billion euros each.

The EIB, the EU’s lending arm, has said it expects to approve 7 billion euros in loans to the automotive industry in the first half of this year, including 4 billion euros set aside for green-transport projects.

“We are aiming to respond to Europe’s needs as rapidly and efficiently as possible, while continuing to ensure that the projects we fund are economically and environmentally sound and in line with European Union priorities,” EIB President Philippe Maystadt said in a statement today.

The EU should be prepared to quadruple loans for the car industry this year to 15 billion euros because of the economic slump, according to Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Renault, France’s second-biggest automaker.

“The EIB loans will contribute to meeting environmental requirements but are insufficient to confront the extraordinary economic circumstances,” the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said today in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Meera Louis in Brussels at mlouis1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 12, 2009 12:16 EDT