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As his administration offered more aid to stabilize the ailing U.S. auto sector, President Barack Obama touted a $2.4 billion grant program to spark the development of plug-in hybrid cars.

"Show us that your idea or your company is best-suited to meet America's challenges, and we will give you a chance to prove it," Obama told workers Thursday at Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif.

The president toured the facility as part of a two-day swing through the Golden State designed to sell the public on his budget plans and spotlight early results of the $787 billion economic recovery package. Later Thursday, Obama will participate in a town hall meeting in Los Angeles and appear on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In Pomona, Obama's short address to workers focused on the administration's effort to lessen the U.S.'s dependence on oil.

"We have a choice to make," Obama said. "We can remain one of the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that will allow us to become the world's leading exporter of renewable energy."

Obama said his goal is to have one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015.

The president's push for new vehicle technology comes as the U.S. auto sector battles a severe sales slump prompted by the recession. The Treasury Department is weighing requests by General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC, for more government loans.

Earlier, the Treasury launched a $5 billion program to assist struggling auto-parts suppliers, many of which are on the verge of bankruptcy.

-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com