Detroit , Michigan ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama , speaking at auto plants here Friday , praised the recovery of the embattled U.S. auto industry and celebrated the tough choices he says made a comeback possible . `` Last year , many thought this industry would keep losing jobs , as it had for the better part of the past decade . Today , U.S. automakers have added more than 55,000 jobs since last June , '' said Obama , speaking at a Chrysler plant . He said both Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Corp. have rebounded from the depths of their government-brokered bankruptcies and are back on track to grow . Later in the day , Obama toured and spoke at a GM plant , where he also made the case for why the federal government 's investment in the auto industry was a wise move . At times sounding like a candidate on the campaign trial , he is working to build support for his economic policies with just a few months to go until midterm elections in November . In the 12 months before he took office , Obama said , the U.S. auto industry had lost hundreds of thousands of jobs and had seen its sales drop 40 percent . He cited estimates suggesting more than 1 million people would have lost their jobs if Chrysler and GM , two of the three big U.S. automakers , had been allowed to liquidate . Ford Motor Co. was the only one of the `` Big 3 '' automakers that did not take a government bailout . At the GM plant , Obama also stressed the need to develop and manufacture green technologies that would cut the country 's dependence on oil . He test drove the Chevrolet Volt , GM 's electric car , which is expected to roll out later this year . `` Today , this industry is growing strong . It 's creating new jobs . It 's manufacturing the fuel-efficient cars and trucks that will carry us toward an energy independent future , '' Obama said .
NEW : President touts development of green technologies . Says 55,000 new jobs have been added by the U.S. auto industry . Obama defends government support for the companies as a good investment .