Ford Loosens Purse Strings, Showers Michigan With Cash

by Steph Willems

Published: December 17th, 2019

ford loosens purse strings showers michigan with cash

The $6 billion in funding promised in Ford Motor Company’s new four-year labor contract is starting to be seen and heard. Having secured a walletful of incentives from the state of Michigan, Ford is now promising about $1.45 billion and 3,000 new jobs for the Southeast Michigan area.

Ford’s cash dump, announced Tuesday, will flow into three facilities in the area, one of which doesn’t yet exist.

The automaker’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, receives roughly half of the money and stands to add 2,700 jobs over the coming three years. While the plant’s Ranger and upcoming Bronco (due for a reveal next spring) will absorb some of that $750 million, the funding will also go towards the construction of a Wayne modification center.

“Employees at Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle, Bronco and Ranger modification center in Wayne will complete Ford’s first autonomous vehicles starting in 2021, including installing the vehicles’ unique self-driving technology and unique purpose-built interiors,” the automaker said in a release, adding somewhat cryptically, “At that same location, Bronco and Ranger will be modified for customers.”

Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly was originally the intended site for the company’s autonomous efforts, but that changed earlier this year. Back in March, Ford claimed Flat Rock would instead churn out the existing Mustang and a crop of electric Ford and Lincoln models, punting its future AV operations to an unspecified locale in the Southeast Michigan area.

The Detroit News reports that Ford garnered $35.3 million in state incentives for its Michigan investments.

Elsewhere in the region, Ford’s Dearborn truck plant will receive $700 million and add 300 jobs to support production of hybrid and electric variants of the brand’s F-150 pickup. The hybrid model appears next year; the EV should debut in 2021. The Dearborn investment includes a facility where battery cells — a whole lot of them — will be packaged into the truck’s no-doubt-massive battery packs.

[Image: Ford]

#AutonomousVehicles #AV #ElectricVehicles #EVs #Ford #FordF-150 #FordF-150Hybrid #FordMustang #FordRanger #Funding #ProductPlanning #MichiganAssemblyPlant #FutureModels

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 comments

Dont.fit.in.cars on Dec 17, 2019

It’s all Trumps’ fault....curse you villain

Like Reply
28-Cars-Later on Dec 17, 2019

"The hybrid model appears next year; the EV should debut in 2021." This might have a shot, Mock-EV eh not so much. Maybe they pushed the "mustang" model so it can experience the teething issues ahead of F-150? That actually would make at least -some- sense.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Pig_Iron If it's not hurting anyone, what's the problem? We have a lot bigger problems to deal with like the failure to prosecute the 5-29 insurrectionists. ✌
MaintenanceCosts This is already illegal for several reasons. Is this a new redundant law, or is this just an announcement that the police are actually going to be enforcing the law as is?(Also, most lifts at all 4 corners are illegal too, although it's almost never enforced.)
Jkross22 I get Lexus much more now, especially this era. This seems to be the sweet spot for reserved styling, comfort and reliability. No turbos, integrated screen, hard buttons and knobs, good to great stereos, great seats. Still have some pangs of desire for the GS-F for all of the above reasons and V8 sounds, but this is the smarter choice.
Canam23 I had a 2014 GS350 that I bought with 30K miles and the certified unlimited four year warranty. After four and a half years I had 150K miles on it and sold it to Carmax when I moved to France a little over two years ago. As you can see I ran up a lot of work miles in that time and the Lexus was always quick, comfortable and solid, no issues at all. It was driving pretty much the same as new when I let it go and, and, this is why it's a Lexus, the interior still looked new. I bought it for 30K and sold it for 16K making it the most economical car I've ever owned. I really miss it, if you have to drive a lot, as I did in my job, it is the perfect car. Some may argue the Camry or Accord would foot that bill, but I say nay nay, you really want the comfort and rear wheel drive of the Lexus. Keep it forever Corey, you won't regret it.
SCE to AUX "...if there’s enough demand"If they are only offered as electric to begin with, how will Stellantis gauge demand - unhappy customers demonstrating at the dealers with torches and pitchforks?What a great way to add cost and reduce competitiveness, by making a propulsion-agnostic platform with a hundred built-in compromises.