Abandoned cuts to car industry subsidies have been valued at a fraction of their headline amount, according to reports.

The cuts to the Automotive Transformation Subsidy amounted to $900 million but failed to pass the Senate.

Yesterday Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane announced those cuts would be abandoned, with “up to $500 million” expected to be distributed as part of the scheme.

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But more doubts have been cast on the real amount to be distributed as part of the ATS, with reports on the ABC suggesting government MPs believed only $100 million would be distributed.

The downgrade in the amount was based on an expected tailing off of production leading up to the closure of the Australian operations of Ford in 2016 and Toyota and Holden in 2017.

This morning Labor’s Corio MP, Richard Marles, whose seat includes Geelong where Ford has foreshadowed closing its large manufacturing plant which employs thousands, pointed out an inconsistency with the government’s proposal.

“If this is such a good idea, why did they make the decision to cut the funding in the first place,” Mr Marles said.

Greens MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt called for some of the excess funding in the scheme to be repurposed to transition the car industry into building electric cars.

“The Greens propose taking some of these savings and putting it back into a transition plan for the industry so that the industry can be part of the half a trillion dollar global electric car market and people in South Australia and Victoria have a future once the big three carmakers pull out,” Mr Bandt said in a statement.

Yesterday the Australian Manufacturing Worker’s Union championed the U-turn on ATS funding, saying the decision ended the uncertainty over the industry.

“This Government delay means that the industry has stagnanted further, and thousands more jobs are at risk in the componants sector,” AMWU national vehicle secretary Dave Smith said.